Shocking video captures Indonesian tsunami tragedy
Three band members were killed while another two remain missing. Photo: Twitter/@jamesmassola
Harrowing footage of a beachside concert has captured the shocking moment Indonesia’s deadly tsunami struck without warning.
The band Seventeen was entertaining some 260 staff and family members of state power company, PLN, when the tsunami suddenly struck their concert venue, sweeping performers and audience members away.
Two band members and several of the audience were killed by the wave.
“We were singing our second song when suddenly a big wave crashed from behind the stage,” Seventeen‘s lead vocalist Riefian Fajarsyah, also known as Ifan, later told news broadcaster TV One.
A short video widely shared on social media showed the band playing at the moment the wave hit, causing the stage to instantly collapse.
Warning: Graphic footage:
The water washed inland and dragged along everyone at the location.
In a video posted on Instagram, Seventeen lead singer Riefian Fajarsyah, nicknamed Ifan, confirmed the deaths of its bassist M. Awal Purbani, also known as Bani, its road manager and its guitarist.
He said the drummer, a crew member, and his wife, whose birthday was Sunday, remain missing, urging people to pray for them to be found.
Ifan also posted a photo of him and his wife kissing in Paris, captioned, “Today is your birthday, I am wishing that you come home my love.”
Ifan said he floated on the water for about two hours with dead bodies around him.
When he was finally able to get ashore, he found the bodies of Bani and road manager Oki Wijaya among some debris.
The local PLN division holding the party, a transmission unit for western Java, lost 14 people in the disaster.
Eighty-nine people were still missing.
About 157 people, including some badly injured, were already accounted for.
“We continue to keep tabs on staff and search for victims,” PLN spokesman I Made Suprateka said.
“We are also restoring the electricity network to make it run as normal,” he added.
Seventeen’s bassist, M. Awal Purbani, also known as Bani, its road manager and its guitarist were killed in the disaster, the band said in a statement.
The drummer, a crew member, and the vocalist’s wife were still apparently missing.
Ifan said he floated on the water for about two hours with dead bodies around him.
When he was finally able to get ashore, he found the bodies of Bani and road manager Oki Wijaya among some debris.
-with AAP
