Relatives receive victims' remains
Relatives receive victims' remains
JAKARTA (JP): Relatives of those killed in the Garuda
Indonesia plane crash in Sibolangit, North Sumatra, finally
swallowed the bitter reality yesterday as they identified and
received the remains of their loved ones.
Some of them needed extra courage, mainly because they could
only identify their loved ones from their clothes, accessories or
special marks on their bodies as some of the remains were body
parts.
As of yesterday, a forensic expert team at Adam Malik
Hospital, in Medan, had completed a postmortem of 211 out of 234
people who died in one of the country's worst plane crashes.
A total of 171 bodies have been handed over to their
respective families.
Antara reported from Medan that 63 of the remains were yet to
be claimed of which 40 had been identified.
The Airbus A-300-B4 with 222 passengers and 12 crew on board
crashed and exploded into pieces shortly before landing in
Polonia airport in Medan.
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said in Medan
that identification would continue.
"We hope that all of the remaining bodies will be identified
soon," he said in a TV interview.
Fifty-four bodies arrived here yesterday evening and were
handed over to their respective relatives in an emotion-packed
ceremony at Soekarno-Hatta airport.
Among the bodies were those of pilot Rachmo Wiyogo, co-pilot
Soetomo, other crew members and private TV station SCTV reporter
Ferdinandus Sius and cameraman Yance Iskandar.
Heavy rain forced the Garuda flight carrying the remains from
Medan to be delayed four times, leaving 2,000 people waiting in
Jakarta for more than five hours.
The plane finally arrived here at 7:15 p.m.
Upon arrival here, wailing relatives rushed to the coffins as
they entered the Garuda hangar 2, the venue of the ceremony.
The mourners repeatedly called the names of their beloved
ones, only to hear no answer.
"Who will I play with now, daddy?" Alvin Fardian, 12, the
oldest son of pilot Rachmo, wept as he kissed the coffin of his
father.
His seven-year-old brother, Aldri Rehardian, joined the
reception.
The body of the 42-year-old pilot will be buried today at
Tanah Kusir cemetery.
"We decided that if the body arrived home after 9 p.m., we
would bury it the next day," said an uncle at the family's
residence in Bintaro, South Jakarta.
Gusti Nurdin, a friend of deceased passenger, Nurbaidah
Dahlan, said she had some foreboding inclinations before boarding
the flight Friday.
"She told me she was reluctant to go to Medan because she was
tired of traveling," Gusti said.
Nurbaidah was the dean of the Open University's School of
Social and Political Sciences.
She flew to Medan to present certificates to teachers who were
graduating from elementary and junior high school upgrading
courses.
President Director of Garuda Soepandi, who presided over the
ceremony, consoled the mourners and promised to conduct a
thorough investigation into the accident.
As of yesterday, an investigation commission team had yet to
find the flight data and voice recorder, popularly called the
black box.
Employees of SCTV held a small ceremony to receive the body of
Ferdinandus and Yance.
Ferdinandus' remains will be flown to Kupang, East Nusa
Tenggara, this morning where he will then be laid to rest.
Yance's body will be taken to his hometown of Sukabumi, West
Java.
The two were assigned to report on the haze in Riau. But since
the airport in Pekanbaru was closed, they decided to fly to Medan
and then travel overland to Riau.
Minister Haryanto is this morning scheduled to lead the mass
burial for the unidentified victims in Medan.
The burial will take place on the same grounds where 62 people
who died in a 1979 Garuda Fokker-28 plane crash are buried. The
1,600 square meter area is located near Polonia airport.
President Soeharto, on the suggestion of Haryanto and North
Sumatra officials, agreed Saturday to hold a mass burial for the
victims.
In Medan, the rescue team was surprised to find two
"mysterious bodies" among the crash victims yesterday.
A rescue worker who requested anonymity told Antara that the
bodies were possibly local residents who were working in a nearby
field when the plane crashed.
There was no confirmation available from forensic experts at
the Adam Malik hospital.
Disappointment was lodged to the forensic team, however, as
they ruled out the postmortem of Ester Monica Simanjuntak and
instead declared the body was that of another woman, Wir Kumari.
Doctors said they reviewed the postmortem report following the
second autopsy to verify the identification of the body.
One of the doctors, Amri Amir, told The Jakarta Post that the
second examination was conducted after Wir's family claimed the
body belonged to the 37-year-old woman.
"We found more accurate proof that the body was Wir's
following the second examination," Amri said.
"The hospital is too small for doctors to conduct postmortem
examinations. This is why some of them have not carried out their
jobs properly," he added.
The body which was declared to be Wir's had been taken home by
her brother Sarwan Kumar, amid protests from Ester's family.
As of yesterday, Garuda was yet to announce the full details
of people killed in the plane crash, including their full names,
address and where they had purchased their tickets.
A Garuda official at Polonia airport said he could not reveal
the data, although pressure mounted on them following confusion
about the exact identity of the victims.
Operational Director of Jasa Raharja insurance company Suheimi
Pulungan said the company had not received the details yet, only
a list of passengers from Garuda.
Detailed data of victims is required by the company to
disburse compensation to relatives of the victims.
The next of kin of each passenger and crew member who died in
the crash will receive Rp 40 million (US$13,560) in compensation.
"We guarantee the claim will run smoothly if we obtain
detailed data," the company's president director Tabrani Toha
said in Jakarta. (10/21/jun/amd)
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