Indonesian Air Force officer who sacrificed his life by dedicating himself in saving lives of others!

Indonesian Air Force officer who sacrificed his life by dedicating himself in saving lives of others!

Reports about an exemplary individual who sacrificed his life on behalf of others during the time tragedy of an earthquake and Tsunami which occured in proximity to areas close to Sulawesi island in Indonesia resulting in a great devastation.

When the earthquake was active the accompanying tremor has made a terrible impact on Palu International Airport and on that occasion all employees of the airport had hastened to scamper hither and thither to save their lives. However, at that very moment all arrangements had been made for

flight No. 6321 belonging to BATIK airline to be airborne with hundreds of passengers under these circumstances  at the airport and under such circumstances of tremor there was a possibility that some mishap could result in passengers.

Experienced workers who were maintaining relationships with the traffic control operations though vacated that point, 21 year old Anthonius Gunawan has had no inclination to abandon his duty. Though alert signals to leave the place were continuously sounded, he wished to remain steadfast until he finished his duties. Even though his brotherly comrades left the airport when the earthquake began, this 21 year old Anthonius Gunawan stuck to where he was and placed his life at risk. He had in fact been issuing all instructions necessary for the flight to take off maybe because he realised the the importance of his responsibility of preventing an accident that could be averted.

But unfortunately as soon as the flight took off and the building where Anthonius Gunawan was had got blown off and there was a risk of the building collapsing soon after. What he did was then jump down from the 4th floor. When jumping like this one of his legs and an arm was badly damaged in addition to suffering internal injuries to his body in the process. He was taken to a nearby medical centre and treated; but as he needed further treatment, he was fighting a battle between life and death until a helicopter came to his assistance for him to be taken to hospital. However, just 20 minutes before the helicopter arrived there, he bade goodbye to the whole world and that is how a courageous young man who carried out such an invaluable service to mankind took leave of life. This brave Anthonius Gunawan who cared to rescue the lives hundred of passengers gave of his utmost service and ultimately went on the last journey.

The manner in which he disposed of his duties has been subjected to great admiration and praise the world over. On a search conducted after the earthquake it was found that the runway had experienced damage all over for 250 metres and it was revealed that if not for the quick action taken by traffic controller Anthonius Gunwan, a serious disaster could have resulted. The state of the runway and the building from where he jumped down are seen in the following pictures