A singer whose wife and three band mates were among 373 people killed in an Indonesian tsunami over the weekend asked for prayers for the dead in a series of emotional Instagram posts on Sunday and Monday.
Riefian “Ifan” Fajarsyah, the lead singer of the Indonesian pop-rock band Seventeen, was performing with his three bandmates, bassist Muhammad Awal “Bani” Purbani, guitarist Herman Sikumbang and drummer Windu Andi Darmawan on Saturday night when the stage was overtaken by a giant wave.
The band members, members of the crew and Fajarsyah’s wife, Dylan Sahara, were swept out to sea, but Fajarsyah managed to swim back to shore, according to the Telegraph.
In a series of Instagram posts, Fajarsyah called for the safe return of the missing, and had a special message for Sahara, whose 26th birthday is on Monday.
“Today is your birthday. I want to say it straight away. Hurry home, dear,” Fajarsyah wrote.
In a later post, he acknowledged that Sahara had been found dead and asked for prayers.
“Thank God I met my wife,” he wrote.
He also wrote that he was “proud and honored” to have played in a band with his three lost bandmates.
So far, at least 1,459 people have been injured and dozens are reported missing in the natural disaster.
