A relative shows a picture of alleged passengers who were travelling on missing AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501 on her mobile phone screen at the airport in Surabaya, East Java. The AirAsia Airbus plane with 162 people on board went missing en route from Indonesia to Singapore early yesterday. — AFP photo
SIBU: Family members of Sii Chung Huei, the only Malaysian passenger on board missing AirAsia Indonesia Flight QZ8501 flying from Surabaya to Singapore yesterday morning are praying for his safety.
A source close to the family said Sii’s family members, most of them Christians, were seeking comfort and hope in prayers now.
“When I heard this morning about the AirAsia incident, I was already worried because this was a route my husband and Sii always travelled. By 10am, I received a call from my husband, confirming that Sii, 56, was on the plane.”
She said Sii’s family had received a telephone call from Singapore informing them that Sii was on the missing flight.
“They are hoping for the best. They are praying to keep the spirit up in the family. Two family members who work in Singapore are keeping watch at Changi Airport.”
The two family members are currently the only ones in the island republic to get updates.
It is a frustrating wait for Sii’s family, she admitted.
The only information the family had been given thus far was that the plane had gone missing, and that just before it went missing, the pilot had requested to divert the route due to bad weather.
“That’s all the information they have been given. But they are not giving up hope.”
At press time, she said Sii’s family had not broken the news to his 80-something mother, who has a heart problem.
Sii, a father of three, including a son, is from Bintangor, and he works as a supervisor in a timber company in Surabaya. He frequently travels between Indonesia and Sarawak.
He had booked the flight on Boxing Day.
The source said there were six siblings in the family, and Sii is third among three brothers and sisters.
Sii’s family had moved to Kuching from Sibu, the source said.
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