TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Student dies after fainting during National Heroes Day ceremony
Change Size
A flag-hoisting team marches carrying flags of countries invited to the 60th anniversary of a conference last year. JP/Arya Dipa
(The Jakarta Post/Arya Dipa)
A
student died after falling unconscious while participating in a flag-hoisting ceremony to commemorate National Heroes Day in Wonogiri, Central Java, on Friday.
Hilda Firdaus, 15, an eighth-grade student at Muhammadiyah Pracimantoro junior high school, initially received CPR from health officials en route to a clinic.
She passed away just minutes after arriving at the clinic, said the school's principal, Kusaini.
"Before the ceremony, she complained of a headache," said Kusaini.
"Some of her friends chose to get out of the ceremony's line to take a break. But Hilda insisted on taking part in the ceremony," he added.
It is common in Indonesia to hold a flag-hoisting ceremony to commemorate national days, including National Heroes Day, which falls on Nov. 10 to remember the battle between Indonesia and Allied Force in Surabaya in 1945.
Meanwhile, around 20 participants in the ceremony held at Wonogiri city center also fell unconscious, including Aji Setyawan, a member of the flag-hoisting team.
"Most of them skipped breakfast before the ceremony," said Warjo, head of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) branch in Wonogiri. (mos/ahw)
