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.
Relatives keep their hopes up
A scene of devastation: People comfort the distressed relative of Indo Asia Tours employee Edward Edo, who was among 45 people on board the Sukhoi Superjet 100 that crashed near Bogor, West Java
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
A
span class="caption">A scene of devastation: People comfort the distressed relative of Indo Asia Tours employee Edward Edo, who was among 45 people on board the Sukhoi Superjet 100 that crashed near Bogor, West Java. The woman had been monitoring the search for survivors from Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma Airport on Thursday. JP/Wendra Ajistyatama
Hope still burns dimly among the relatives and friends of passengers on the ill-fated Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100, after two days of anxiety and exhaustion waiting for news of their loved ones.
They occupied every corner and any bench they could find at the arrivals hall of Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta on Thursday as dozens of journalists milled around to catch any updates about the plane.
Purbowo, 53, had been at the airport since 8 a.m., waiting for news about his brother Anton Daryanto, 55, a flight engineer with PT Sky Aviation. Anton was on the passenger list, together with 44 others including eight Russian pilots, technicians and embassy officials, for the demonstration flight. Those onboard included Indonesian businessmen and journalists.
Earlier reports suggested the plane took off with 50 people, but five Indonesians including former public housing minister Suharso Monoarfa, had skipped the flight.
“He [Anton] was not supposed to be on the plane. He replaced his boss who took too long for afternoon prayers,” said Purbowo, adding that most of his siblings were at the airport while Anton’s wife and children waited at home.
“We hope for the best because we can never know God’s plan,” he said.
When Sikun Hadisunarto gave his blessing to his daughter, Ismie Sunarto, to cover the demo flight of the plane, it never occurred to him that her first flight would be her last. “She was a bit nervous so she asked me to pray for her, that everything would work out fine.”
Ismie was a reporter with Trans TV and was assigned to cover the flight with Aditya, a cameraman.
Sikun and his wife came all the way from Serang, Banten, to await his daughter’s arrival at the airport on Wednesday.
“We can only pray that she can be found and the evacuation process goes well,” he said at the airport, adding that his daughter would have been promoted as she had completed her training program.
Although the rescue team spotted on Thursday morning the scattered debris of the plane on the slopes of Mt. Salak in West Java, the evacuation was halted until Friday due to fog and the difficult terrain at the scene. Gagah Prakoso, spokesman for the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), said that preliminary observations disclosed there were bodies in the wreckage but there was no sign of survivors.
Many relatives of the crash victims began arriving at the search and rescue mission command posts, in the hope of finding survivors.
Risman, the grandfather of Dewi Mutiara, a flight attendant in the Sukhoi plane, arrived at Post 1 in Bogor’s Tenjolaya district with Dewi’s parents.
“She worked for just one month with Sukhoi, after working for five years with Lion Air. She always dreamed of becoming a flight attendant,” Risman recalled.
Sidup Usma, Dewi’s father, said that he had not seen her for two weeks as she lived separately in Cengkareng, West Jakarta. Before the accident, Dewi had planned to get married to her pilot boyfriend later this year.
From Bandung, West Java, the family of PT Dirgantara Indonesia’s (DI) integrated aero-structure head, Kornel Mandagi Sihombing, still hoped he had survived the accident. Kornel’s house was crowded with relatives and colleagues who were anxiously awaiting news of his fate.
Kornel’s wife, Indriyati Ayub, fought back tears while monitoring the TV news. “When I heard about the accident, I tried to contact him several times but to no avail.”
She said her husband had only told her that he would have a meeting with Sukhoi’s representatives on Wednesday afternoon and then go to a dinner that night. “I did not call him again because I expected he would arrive in Bandung at midnight,” Indriyati said, adding that she and other family members were still hoping for good news.
The rescue team includes members of the Indonesian Military, the National Police, the Indonesian Red Cross and locals, making up a total of 711 personnel divided into 30 groups. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to head the rescue mission.
The authorities have also prepared three helicopters, 50 ambulances and 10 vehicles to remove the victims’ remains. The bodies will be taken to the National Police Sukanto Hospital in East Jakarta. The authorities have also set up medical posts at Halim airport. The Disaster Victim Investigation office will release details on the victims to family members. (cor)
