A young traffic controller is being hailed a hero after he remained behind in an earthquake to make sure a plane carrying hundreds could take off safely, sacrificing his own life.
Anthonius Gunawan Agung, 21, was working at Mutiara SIS Al-Jufrie Airport in Palu on the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday night, when the horrific 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck.
The quake left deep cracks in the airports runway as Batik Air flight 6321 was getting ready to take off with hundreds of passengers on board.
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His colleagues ran for their lives when the control tower began to sway as the ground underneath it split -but Anthonius stayed behind to see the plane off safely and, tragically, lost his life.
His brave actions could potentially have saved the lives of all the people on board the plane, as the city was later devastated by a six-metre high tsunami caused by the earthquake.
Soon after the plane had safely departed the building he was stationed in began to shake - in fear he would be trapped in the debris when the building collapsed Anthonius jumped from the fourth floor window.
He suffered internal injuries and a broken leg from the fall and was rushed to hospital, a helicopter was then called to take him to a hospital where he could be provided with specialist care but he died before the helicopter arrived.
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A spokesman for AirNav Indonesia, Yohannes Sirait, said Agung's decision cost him his life, but he may have saved hundreds of others.
Anthonius, who was only a month away from his 22nd birthday, was given a hero's send-off surrounded by hundreds of tributes as soldiers carried his body to his burial.
Due to the courageous sacrifice he made AirNav bosses also increased his rank by two levels in recognition.
The utterly devastating tsunami has taken the lives of at least 384 people in Indonesia.
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A further 540 are reported to be injured after a 6.1 magnitude tremor hit the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday followed by the massive earthquake, which caused giant waves up to six metres (18 feet) high, causing the deaths of many as they played on the beach in the scenic tourist town.
Scores of families are still missing among the debris of the thousands of buildings that were swept away or demolished.
Strong aftershocks continued to rock the coastal city of Palu on Saturday morning, which is home to about 350,000 people on the coast of Sulawesi island.
In Palu, hundreds of people had been preparing for a beach festival that was due to start on Friday night.
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The city's main hospital was damaged in the quake, with TV footage showing dozens of injured people being treated outside in makeshift medical tents.
Featured Image Credit: AirNAV IndonesiaTopics: indonesia, World News, News, Tsunami