The Susanto family were scheduled to fly on Asia Airlines flight QZ8501. (Chandra Susanto)
An
Indonesian man and his family escaped certain death by canceling their
trip to Singapore on Asia Airlines flight QZ8501 at the last minute. The
aircraft lost contact with Indonesian air traffic control yesterday
near Belitung Island in Indonesia.
Chandra
Susanto, his wife Inge, and their three children Christopher,10,
Nadine, 7, and Felix, 5,who live in Surabaya, were booked on the plane
to visit Susanto’s father
"My father became ill so we had to cancel our flight," Susanto told Daily Mail Australia.
“We had been planning our holiday to Singapore since March 2014 so it
was a great surprise for us when we cancelled our holiday yesterday.”
Susanto
learned that his family had narrowly averted disaster only when his
terrified sister phoned to see if the family was okay.
"I
am very thankful to God for his mercy for me and my family," he said.
"But I am so sad and very sorry for the people on the plane.
"They
were just traveling to Singapore, maybe with their family, maybe for a
holiday. And now they are lost," he continued. "Our lives have changed.
We are so grateful. We have an opportunity to be the best people we can
and to help others. We are so thankful to God.”
Meanwhile,
families of the reported 162 passengers and crew members on board
QZ8501 desperately wait for news. A search and rescue mission by the
Singapore air force and navy concentrated around the Java Sea is
scheduled to resume around midnight local time.
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