KLANG: Clad in black and white outfits, the families, all with glum faces, huddled under a tent on the hospital grounds. Even the skies seemed to share the gloom, with the sun blocked out by grey clouds.
The families of the 10 victims who died in the Elmina housing estate airplane crash were at Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (HTAR) in Klang, waiting patiently for news of when they could take their loved ones home to be buried.
They have been told the bodies will be released on Monday, at best.
It was a heart-wrenching sight as they had been there since late Thursday, even though Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain had advised them to go home.
He told them to wait for the call from authorities.
The families, though, could not bear to leave.
Mahanum Ismail, 67, said she accepted the passing of her son Shahrul Kamal Roslan, the pilot of the plane.
“We will see the bright side of the efforts given by the authorities,” she said.
Ariyanee Ahmad Zulkifli, 48, the cousin of Mohamad Naim Fawwaz Mohamed Muaidi, who was listed as a passenger on the flight, said they were ready to perform the funeral rites at Surau Saujana Impian and burial at Tanah Perkuburan Islam Sungai Kantan in Kajang.
Mohamad Naim, 35, she said, had been off duty on the day of the crash. He had been invited to join the trip to Langkawi by Datuk Seri Johari Harun, a Pahang exco man.
“My cousin had a close working relationship with Datuk Seri,” she said at the Forensic Department of the hospital.
Ariyanee said Mohamad Naim had always dreamt of becoming a pilot since he was little. His death came almost exactly three years after his mother’s passing on Aug 8, 2020.
“We were like siblings and my cousin was a happy and cheerful person,” she said.
Ariyanee added that her grandmother was also informed of Mohamad Naim’s passing.
“My grandmother, who is in her 90s, is saddened. But she has accepted it as fate,” she said.
The families left after Razarudin told them the post-mortem results would take time and that the bodies were expected to be released only Monday, at the earliest.
He said DNA tests were being carried out to identify the remains and the process would take time.
Razarudin told them to go back to their homes or local accommodations while the DNA matching process and post-mortem were being carried out.
He noted that the weather may affect the families waiting in the tent outside the Forensic Department.
