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An Indonesian air traffic controller has sacrificed his life to ensure a plane carrying hundreds of people safely made it off the ground. His colleagues had run for their lives when the tower started to sway and walls started to crack, but Mr Agung stayed to make sure Batik Air Flight 6321, which was on the runway at the time, took off safely.
The decision cost him his life.
The 7.5 Palu Indonesia Earthquake – 2018.09.28
Anthonius Gunawan Agung, 21(!!), who was on duty as an air traffic controller (ATC) at Palu airport in Central Sulawesi, died due to injuries he suffered after jumping off an ATC tower when the 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit the area. Didiet KS Radityo, the corporate secretary of the Indonesian Flight Navigation Service Institution (AirNav Indonesia), told The Jakarta Post that Agung, who worked for AirNav Indonesia, died in hospital on Saturday morning. Agung, who was working on the fourth floor of the ATC tower at Mutiara Sis Al Jufri Airport in Palu, had just cleared the lane for the departure of a Batik Air plane on Friday afternoon. He was waiting for the plane to take off.
When the plane was about to take off, the tremor hit but Agung remained in the tower.
After the plane took off, Agung jumped from the tower because the roof had collapsed.“He gave clearance for this flight, and if he left his post before the plane was airborne, hundreds of people inside the plane might be in danger.”
Didiet said AirNav Indonesia had prepared a helicopter to take him to Balikpapan for further treatment on Saturday morning. “But God had another plan. He passed away 20 minutes before the helicopter arrived,” he added. “Agung dedicated himself to his job until the end of his life and did not leave the control tower until the plane took off, even though the earthquake had struck.” Yohanes Sirait, the public relations manager at AirNav Indonesia, said in a press statement on Saturday that the institution had sent its condolences after the tragedy.
“Our deepest condolences. May Almighty God bless our family (Agung) and other victims of the earthquake in Donggala regency,” he said.The official death toll from the earthquake and subsequent tsunami is more than 800, but authorities fear that thousands may have died.
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