Twin mourns brother killed in freak blast

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Arfan Satria Palon was still asleep at about 7 a.m. on Saturday when the phone rang.

He had no inkling of the shocking news that was to forever change his life and that of his family.

He was told that his identical twin brother, Irfan Satria Palon, was killed when a gas cylinder exploded at SMUN 47 state high school in Tanah Kusir, South Jakarta.

The second year student was at the school to observe the preparation for the school's 20th anniversary celebration. Some 75 balloons were inflated to provide decorations before the cylinder exploded, killing Irfan and injuring two other students.

"Irfan's friend called me. He said Irfan had an accident. I thought it was a traffic accident but I was wrong. He died. God had called him home," Arfan, who studies at a different school, said in a low, tremulous voice.

"I will miss him. He was half of my life."

Arfan said he could always feel what Irfan felt, such as when his brother was ill, even if they were in different places.

Because he was sleeping when the accident happened, Arfan blamed himself for not being aware of what was happening to his brother.

Irfan was chatting with some friends in front of the school while watching Sarno, a balloon vendor, inflate the 75 balloons.

After finishing his job, Sarno handed over the balloons to the committee. Realizing that the tank was overheated, he went to fetch some water to pour onto it. Unfortunately, it exploded before he returned.

Sarno, 26, admitted his negligence to the Kebayoran Lama Police, saying that he had failed to expel the remaining gas from the tank, causing it to overheat.

Sarno, who has been a balloon vendor since 1991, was named a suspect in the case.

Witnesses said Irfan died instantly from massive head injuries. Two students, Budi Wiyono and Alwin Taher, who were also injured, were rushed to Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta.

Irfan was buried at nearby Tanah Kusir cemetery.

His family put on a brave face in the face of the tragedy. His father, mother and five brothers and sisters, including Arfan, welcomed guests who came to the school to pay their last respects.

"It's a calamity. We won't blame anyone. God has called him home," said Suhanda, Irfan's father, who works in a textile store in Kebayoran Lama market, South Jakarta.

Suhanda led prayers for his son in the school's mosque. Hundreds of guests, mostly students, participated.

Teachers, including school principal S.H. Hatta, were grief- stricken. Most of them had not yet arrived when the explosion occurred at 6:45 a.m.

Parent-Teacher Association chairman Suparman T. Friya said the school and Irfan's family shared in the terrible tragedy.

"We're responsible for this. We organized the funeral ceremony and reported the case to the police," he said.