Police in
Indonesia are collecting DNA samples from relatives of those killed in the
Malaysia Airlines tragedy
Jakarta Globe, Ari Susanto, Jul 20, 2014
Solo. Police have begun taking DNA samples from family members of some of the 12 Indonesians believed to have been on board the Malaysia Airlines flight that was shot down over Ukraine on Thursday.
Solo. Police have begun taking DNA samples from family members of some of the 12 Indonesians believed to have been on board the Malaysia Airlines flight that was shot down over Ukraine on Thursday.
Police are
also questioning the relatives about any identifiable physical characteristics
as they seek to provide details to the investigators trying to identify the
remains scattered over a field in rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine,
according to Adj. Comr. Aris Prasetyo, a spokesman for the National Police’s
Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team.
Aris told
the Jakarta Globe on Sunday that police had already taken a DNA sample from
relatives of Yuli Hastini, 44, an Indonesian woman who was on board Flight MH17
with her Dutch husband, Johnny Paulisen, and their two children, Arjuna
Paulisen and Sri Paulisen.
The family
were said to be on an annual trip to visit Yuli’s family in Solo, Central Java.
It was the first time they had flown Malaysia Airlines, having previously taken
Singapore Airlines, relatives said.
In
neighboring Karanganyar district, police took DNA samples from the parents of
Supartini, 39, who was employed as a domestic worker in The Hague with her two
sisters.
Aris said
the family had also submitted a copy of a picture that Supartini had taken of
herself at Amsterdam’s Schipol airport and sent to one of her sisters before
boarding the flight.
The three
sisters had all planned to return to Indonesia for a month before going back to
the Netherlands. Paryati and Murtini, though, flew out a day earlier, on
Emirates and Singapore Airlines flights, respectively.
Aris said
the DVI team would submit all the DNA samples and descriptions of the victims
to the National Police headquarters in Jakarta for use in aiding investigators
identify the bodies at the crash site.
The plane
was carrying 298 passengers and crew when it was shot down over territory
controlled by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine’s east. The separatist, the
Ukrainian military and the Russian military have all denied responsibility for
the incident.
Yuli and
Supartini were among 12 Indonesians listed on the passenger manifest. The
others were identified as Hadiono Gunawan, Hendry, Clarice Yelena Huizen,
Vickiline Kurniati Kardia, Gerda Leliana Laherda, Jane M. Adi Soetjipto, Wayan
Sujana, Yodricunda Theistiasih, Ketut Wiartini and Ninik Yuriani.
Related Article:
No comments:
Post a Comment