Indonesian Scout Died at Mount McKinley

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:“We hoped the weather would be clear so the evacuation can run smoothly,” Zulfa Ahyar, Pungkas’s partner who was waiting at Anchorage, told Tempo by telephone yesterday.

The Indonesian Consulate-General in San Francisco and the Tunas Indonesia Expedition Team, which organized the trip, will immediately bring the body back to Indonesia. Hartman Nugraha, another partner of Pungkas who hiked the 6.299-meter high mountain, left the camp site and headed for Anchorage.

Pungkas, Hartman, Zulfa and Bayu Tresna are boy scouts from the Tunas Expedition Team, who took part in this expedition. Three days ago, Pungkas and Hartman successfully reached the mountain’s peak, the highest in the US. “They hoisted Indonesian and Boy Scout flags,” said National Boy Scout chairman, Prof Dr dr H. Azrul Azwar.

From the peak, the two boys headed for high camp located at a height of 5.394 meters. Ten minutes before reaching the camp, Pungkas fell. He tried to stand up but fainted after a couple of steps. The local guides immediately gave him cardiac pulmonary resuscitation and two dosages of ephinephrin. The attempt to revive Pungkas failed and his heart stopped beating. It was Monday 09.40 local time, or Tuesday 20.40 Western Indonesia Time.
The hike was part of activities commemorating 100 years of National Awakening Day and 100 years of the World Scouting anniversary celebration. “Pungkas was a hero to boy scouts and young people in Indonesia,” said Azrul Azwar.

Pungkas’s parents, Mumpungat and Istiharti, said they were resigned to their son’s demise. Mumpungat also said he was proud of his son’s achievement. “He hoisted the red-white flag at the peak of an American mountain,” he said at the funeral in Ciledug, Tangerang. Pungkas, he said, was fond of mountain hiking since he joined the Scout movement.

Zulfa Ahyar remembered Pungkas’s wish after he returned to Indonesia. “I want to organize a bike club at campuses,” said Pungkas then. Pungkas, who studied at Mercu Buana University in Jakarta, is a Bicycle Club committee member. He had been a Scout since he was in Junior High School in West Java.
UNTUNG W | JONIANSYAH