Twin mourns brother killed in freak blast

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.