'We'll meet in God’s paradise': Indonesian pop star pays tribute to wife after tsunami

Actress and TV personality Dylan Sahara was swept up in the deadly Indonesian tsunami a day before her 26th birthday.

Lead singer of Indonesian pop band Seventeen Riefian Fajarsyah has posted an emotional video of his wife's funeral to social media.

Lead singer of Indonesian pop band Seventeen Riefian Fajarsyah has posted an emotional video of his wife's funeral to social media. Source: Instagram

A day after several members of Indonesian pop band Seventeen were buried, lead singer Riefian Fajarsyah has posted an emotional video alongside his wife's coffin.

The band were performing on Saturday when dramatic footage captured the Sunda Strait tsunami slamming into the stage, sending the band members flying. 



New clips, posted to Fajarsyah's Instagram account, shows an arm resting over a coffin and a portrait of his wife, actress and TV personality Dylan Sahara.




He includes a touching caption, declaring the pair will be reunited in "God's paradise".

A screenshot from an Instagram video posted by Riefian Fajarsyah.
A screenshot from an Instagram video posted by Riefian Fajarsyah. Source: Instagram


Sahara, who was running for parliament in next year's elections, was identified at a hospital late on Monday, according to Indonesian media reports. She was at the performance in Western Java when the wall of water swept through the event.

It was the before her 26th birthday. 



"(She) was not perfect and neither am I, but she never stopped trying to be the best wife," Fajarsyah said in his online tribute.

"I could not ask for more."



Fajarsyah had previously posted a photo of the pair kissing in Paris with the caption: "today is your birthday, I want to say directly, hurry home, dear".

Tens of thousands of sympathetic messages were posted to Fajarsyah's social media accounts on Tuesday, including from celebrities and politicians.



"Deepest condolences bro. May you have strength and patience and may your wife be granted the best place alongside God," famous Indonesian singer Judika wrote online.

Funerals were held on Monday for the group's bassist, guitarist, road manager and a crew member who were also killed in the disaster. The guitarist has also been confirmed dead.

The death toll from Saturday's tsunami has now reached at least 429 people, with more victims expected to be recovered as the search expands. At least 154 people remain missing and 1,400 have been injured. 



Share
2 min read

Published

Updated

By Maani Truu
Source: AFP, SBS


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
'We'll meet in God’s paradise': Indonesian pop star pays tribute to wife after tsunami | SBS News