Groom killed in quake hours before wedding
DAYAH TIMU, INDONESIA // On her wedding day, Yusra Fitriani wept as she laid a ceremonial rose- printed cloth over her bridal bed – but they were not tears of joy. What was supposed to be the happiest day of the young woman’s life had become one of the most tragic. Her groom- to- be and seven members of his family were dead – killed as they slept when an earthquake struck Aceh province in Indonesia’s west. And instead of saying her wedding vows, Ms Fitriani was dealing with the shock of her future being torn from her. Her intended, Suharnas, was among 100 people killed when the 6.5-magnitude earthquake ripped through the Muslim-majority region at dawn on Wednesday. Homes collapsed and mosques toppled as many residents were preparing to pray. Ms Fitriani’s hometown of Meureudu was one of the areas hardest hit in the disaster.
Her fiance had sold watches at the marketplace beneath his home, a marketplace that had been destroyed. When news reached Ms Fi- triani’s father, Muhammad Yunus, about the market, he raced to check on his future sonin-law, praying for the best but fearing the worst.
“As I approached the market, my heart was beating very fast,” he said. “It turned out his home had collapsed.”
It was not until late afternoon that Suharnas’s body was found.
The seven members of Suharnas’s family killed in the earthquake had all been visiting for the upcoming wedding.
The day after the earthquake guests began arriving, some bearing gifts for the happy couple, unaware of the tragedy.
A cow had been bought for the wedding feast and handmade posters celebrating the couple hung on the walls.
“Everything was set, the bridal table and tents with a capacity of 1,000 guests,” said Mr Yunus.
Instead, the guests were confronted by a grieving bride too distraught to talk and a family preparing for a funeral.
“Stay strong my child, this is a test from God,” her mother, Rajiati, said, comforting her daughter in a room decorated for the wedding.