Airport hero died saving plane in quake
A YOUNG air traffic controller sacrificed his life to ensure a packed aircraft escaped the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia that has left almost 400 dead.
Anthonius Agung, 21, remained in his collapsing control tower on the island of Sulawesi until the Batik Air flight was safely in the sky. His colleagues had fled when the tower started to sway and walls began to crack, but he refused to abandon his post.
An Air Navigation Indonesia spokesman said the decision cost him his life, but potentially saved hundreds of others. ‘He gave clearance for this flight, and if he had left his post before the plane was airborne, hundreds inside the plane might have been in danger,’ he said.
After the plane left safely, Mr Agung jumped from a fourth floor window but died later from his injuries.
The official death toll of 384 in the disaster is expected to rise.
A 10ft wall of water smashed into Sulawesi in the wake of the quake on Friday evening. Preparations were underway for a festival and there were scores of dancers on the beach. Video footage showed the devastating force of the tsunami as it swept in along the coastline destroying buildings in its path in the coastal city of Palu.
As rescuers went to work, flattened towns and villages were dotted with bright blue body bags. Palu’s main hospital was damaged in the quake, and TV pictures showed dozens of injured being treated outside and in makeshift medical tents.
The quake hit central Sulawesi at a depth of 6.2 miles just before 6pm on Friday local time.
A tsunami warning was issued but lifted within the hour. Indonesia’s meteorological agency has been criticised for its response, but officials said the waves struck while the warning was in place.
Fears were mounting last night for the inhabitants of a fishing village, Donggala, closer to the epicentre of the quake than Palu, but which rescuers had not been able to reach.