Indonesia tsunami: Hero air traffic controller died in earthquake after staying to ensure plane took off safely | London Evening Standard

Indonesia tsunami: Hero air traffic controller died in earthquake after staying to ensure plane took off safelyFollow our live blog for the latest updates on this storyHero: Air traffic controller Anthonius Gunawan Agung bravely stayed in his control tower during the earthquake@AirNav_Official/Twitter

A hero air traffic controller died during the devastating Indonesia tsunami after staying behind to make sure a plane carrying hundreds of passengers took off.

Anthonius Gunawan Agung, 21, was working at Palu airport on the island of Sulawesi on Friday night, when it was struck by two earthquakes causing huge waves to batter the coastline.

With his colleagues running for their lives and the tremors growing in strength, he bravely remained in his control tower until the flight was safely in the air.

But the crumbling tower was collapsing around him, and he was forced to jump from a fourth floor window.

He was rushed to hospital with internal injuries and a broken leg, and was due to be taken by helicopter to another hospital on Saturday morning.

However, he died before the helicopter arrived.

A damaged control tower at Palu airport following the 7.5 magnitude quakeEPA

Air Navigation Indonesia spokesman Yohannes Sirait said his decision had cost him his life, but hundreds of others may have been saved.

At least 384 people have been killed as a result of the second 7.5 magnitude earthquake, which triggered a huge tsunami on Friday afternoon.

Some 540 people have been injured, and 29 have been reported missing.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by damaged infrastructure as roads were blocked and bridges left out of action, while communications to some areas have been completely cut off.

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Palu was one of the worst affected areas. Images from the city, which has a population of 380,000, show parts of it completely submerged in water with widespread damage to buildings.

However Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency BNPB, said casualties and the damage could be even greater in Donggala, located 190 miles north of Palu along the coastline and closer to the epicentre of the quake.

Some 300,000 people live in Donggala however disaster response units were struggling to get to the town and have been unable to make contact.