Young survivor reunites with parents

Young survivor reunites with parents

Hundreds of people took part on Wednesday in a mass burial for unidentified victims of an Indonesian jetliner crash that killed 149 people, some weeping uncontrollably as they watched soldiers and police lower the wooden coffins into a grave.

But on the other side of town, one mother and father were quietly celebrating: their five-year-old son, who had been given up for dead, was found alive in a hospital (photo). The boy, Pento Panjaitan, who was traveling with his father Togar, was injured when the plane crashed moments after taking off from Polonia Airport on Monday. He became separated but was reunited with his parents 13 hours after the accident.

Meanwhile, investigators were sifting through the charred wreckage of the Mandala Airlines plane, trying to determine why it crashed onto a crowded street in the city of Medan, creating a path of destruction as it plowed into houses, cars and pedestrians.

Setyo Rahardjo, head of the National Transportation Safety Committee, said a preliminary report indicated there may have been a problem with one of the engine's turbine blades.

"But we need to investigate it further," he said.