Victims' identification painfully slow

Victims' identification painfully slow

MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Relatives of the 234 victims of the
Garuda Indonesia plane which crashed near here Friday began the
painful task of identifying their loved ones yesterday.

This proved to be difficult, agonizingly slow and for many,
stranded in Jakarta by the haze, impossible.

The remains, put in sealed plastic bags, began arriving on
military trucks at Adam Malik Hospital in the morning.

Their arrival was greeted by hysterical wailing from the
hundreds of people jamming the hospital's entrance.

For some of the remains, the only clues to their identity were
pieces of clothing -- salvaged from the wreckage -- and attached
to the bags to help identification.

Rescue workers had taken 214 bags to the hospital by early
evening, but only 24 bodies had been identified.

Those identified included pilot Rachmo Wiyogo, and three
stewardesses; Soelistyowati, Retno Margaretha, and Abar Sabariah,
a hospital official said. Their bodies are to be flown to Jakarta
today, weather permitting.

The others identified include the SCTV crew, Ferdinandus Sius
and Yance Iskandar.

Antara also listed Junjung Sitorus, Burhanuddin, Amiruddin
Harahap, Syahrial, Rajin Tarigen Sibero, Mulyono, Andi Pudianto,
Lukman Hakim, Darna and Agus Salim among those identified.

There was no news about Polar Yanto Tanoto, the president of
PT Inti Indorayon Utama, who was on board the ill-fated plane.

The relatives came armed with photos and other personal
belongings of the victims, including medical and dental records,
to help with the identification process.

Some of those that were identified were released to their
relatives. Preparations were being made for others to be flown to
Jakarta.

The Airbus A-300-B4 en route from Jakarta crashed shortly
before landing Friday afternoon. Although Garuda has not declared
as much, rescue officials said there was no hope of anyone
surviving and that the 222 passengers and 12 crew members were
all killed.

Anxiety turned to outrage at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport
where hundreds of relatives of the victims waited, and waited,
for the chance to be flown to Medan.

Garuda was providing a Boeing-747 to take them to Medan to
help the authorities with the identification process.

The airplane was originally scheduled to leave at 10 a.m.. The
flight was postponed because Medan's Polonia airport was closed
due to thick haze.

Many of them arrived as early as 5 a.m. and were checked in by
Garuda and proceeded to the waiting lounge. The long wait and
uncertainty added to their grief and pain, and eventually gave
way to confusion and anger.

"Garuda isn't giving us enough attention. They've neglected us
for hours," one man said early in the afternoon.

Some vented their frustration at reporters who hounded them
with probing questions all day long.

"Don't be paparazzi," one man shouted at photographers.

Some of them made alternative arrangements, booking on the
next available ship to Medan.

Only in the late afternoon, when it became apparent that the
plane would not be able to leave, did Garuda decide to put them
up at the Sheraton Bandara and other hotels near the airport.

Pujo Baroto, a Garuda public relations officer, said yesterday
that the plane was now scheduled to leave at 4 a.m. today.

But even this looked doubtful last night with visibility at
Polonia reported to be a mere 200 meters.

Relatives of the 12 crew members killed in the plane were also
picked up from their homes and put up at the airport hotel.

Meanwhile, Garuda and the Ministry of Transportation remained
tightlipped about the probable cause of the accident.

The investigation will almost certainly look into the
possibility that haze, which has been shrouding Medan for the
past week, could have blurred the pilot's visibility.

Officials said visibility at Polonia airport at the time of
the crash was 600 meters, good enough to keep the airport open.

Rescue workers found the wreckage of the GA 152 flight in a
500-meter ravine in Sibolangit district, Deli Serdang regency
some 30 km from Medan.

The plane was shattered into pieces as were many of the
victims.

Collection of the remains was a time-consuming process and
carrying them up the ravine was an even more daunting task.

Each body bag had to be carried by at least four people
through the bushy undergrowth.

The remains were wrapped in sarongs when the rescue workers
ran out of plastic bags.

About 1,500 soldiers took part in the operation.

The government had hoped to complete the evacuation and
identification process quickly, and to hand over the identified
remains to relatives by yesterday afternoon.

But with identification difficult, the head of the North
Sumatra Transportation Office, Aswin Harahap, proposed a mass
burial for all the unidentified victims at a site to be
determined jointly by the provincial administration and the
victims' relatives.

North Sumatra Governor Raja Inal Siregar said he was waiting
for a ruling from religious leaders on a mass burial, given that
the victims were of different religions, Antara said.

Last night, President Soeharto agreed to the proposal for a
mass burial, Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono announced in
Jakarta.

The burial could be held near the crash site tomorrow, giving
relatives of the victims time to reach Medan, Moerdiono said.

Moerdiono said the President urged the authorities to take
every necessary step to allow the relatives of the victims to
reach the crash site.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto, who had flown
to Medan during the night, went to the crash site to oversee the
evacuation operation.

Haryanto returned to Jakarta yesterday on board a Jetstar.

Rescue workers had still not located the flight data and voice
recorders -- popularly known as the black box -- by yesterday
evening. Their data will be crucial in determining the cause of
the crash.

The government appointed M. Diran of the Ministry of
Transportation to head the investigation team, Director General
of Air Transportation Zainuddin Sikado said.

Zainudin told reporters at Polonia airport that it would
probably be three to four months before the cause of the crash
could be known.

In the meantime, Garuda would continue to operate its fleet of
Airbus A-300s because there was no reason to ground them, he
said.

Antara reported that the plane was equipped with the somewhat
outdated Omega Navigator System. Most planes are now equipped
with Global Position System.

Earlier reports suggested that Capt. Rachmo, had requested
navigation landing instructions from Polonia's control tower.
Five minutes later, the plane lost contact and disappeared from
the radar.

Polonia airport was closed all morning and afternoon yesterday
because of the haze.

All the morning and afternoon flights bound for Medan from
Jakarta were canceled. A flight that left at 6.30 a.m. returned
to Soekarno-Hatta airport an hour later. (21/jun/10/prb/emb/mds)