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Hope persists that missing will be found
Praying for good news: Relatives of passengers on board AirAsia flight QZ8501 pray together in a waiting area at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya on Monday
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span class="inline inline-center">Praying for good news: Relatives of passengers on board AirAsia flight QZ8501 pray together in a waiting area at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya on Monday. The missing plane, which was carrying 162 people when it went missing, could be at the bottom of the sea, after it was presumed to have crashed off the coast, an official said on Monday. Reuters/Beawiharta
Relatives of passengers on board AirAsia Flight QZ 8501, which went missing from radar en route from Surabaya to Singapore on Sunday, still hope their loved ones will be found alive.
'I hope I can celebrate New Year's Eve together with my daughter Natalina Wuntarjo,' Djun Ik, 68, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Djun revealed that Natalina and her eldest daughter Natalia usually prepared dinner for New Year's Eve in Gentengkali, Surabaya. However, Natalina asked permission to go and see her friend in Singapore before the year's end.
'According to her plan, Natalina was to be in Singapore for several days. She asked me permission to take a vacation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and return to Surabaya a few days later, on Dec. 31,' said Djun.
Before leaving home, added Djun, Natalina told her to place Christmas and New Year's parcels in her room.
'She left in a hurry as the airline informed her the flight schedule had been brought forward from 7 a.m. to 5 a.m.,' said Djun at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya.
Natalina, added Djun, was a good and frank person and a diligent worker employed at a restaurant in Surabaya.
'I will wait for my daughter here until she is found in whatever condition,' said Djun, who learned about the missing AirAsia plane after returning home from church.
Djun was accompanied by her eldest daughter Natalia and her husband Andreas and her five-year-old grandchild, Jojo. Natalina is the third of five siblings.
State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura has provided relatives of passengers rooms at the nearby Ibis and Halogen hotels where they can wait for further information.
A relative of another AirAsia passenger, Joko Santoso, said his family had already received a lot of information from the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the Navy and AirAsia.
'We hope the government and AirAsia will be serious in searching for the passengers to the fullest extent possible,' said Joko.
Joko said his nephew Christanto Leoma Hutama had traveled to Singapore to celebrate New Year's Eve with the family of David Gunawan, into which he was to marry.
'Before leaving, Gunawan and his family came to my house to greet us and brought us a Christmas cake. He also apologized for not being able to gather as a big family in Bondowoso,' said Joko.
The family included David Gunawan, Jie Stephanie, Jie Steven, Kayla Audrey, Kenneth Matthew and Syawal Hendra.
'Gunawan is the would-be father-in-law of my nephew Christanto, who will get married next year,' explained Joko.
Meanwhile, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the search mission for the AirAsia passenger plane would continue indefinitely.
'The search process is no easy task, but we, the government of Indonesia, will continue to do our best. Every party, including the police, Basarnas, AirAsia and foreign nations, has joined the search mission to look for the AirAsia plane,' Kalla told the media after a dialog with families of passengers at the crisis center at Terminal II of Juanda on Monday.
Kalla arrived with Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani, Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan, East Java Governor Soekarwo, Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini and Sidoarjo Regent Saifullah.
