Cape woman escaped death by minutes

2002-10-14 08:41

Thinus Ferreira

Cape Town - "My time had not yet come," said a Cape Town woman from Bali after she and a business associate literally had escaped death by minutes.

A car bomb turned the tropical island paradise into a bloodbath on Saturday night, minutes before Marlene Truter (45) of Durbanville and Cecile Potgieter of Humansdorp were to visit the Marconi restaurant.

The restaurant is right next to the Saris Club where 200 people died and scores more were seriously injured when the bomb exploded at 23:15.

Truter, who imports Indonesian furniture to South Africa, has paid several visits to Bali and had arrived on the island on Saturday.

Truter said: "My hotel is 5km from the club where the bomb exploded. A huge blast shook the hotel door in its hinges. I immediately knew a bomb had exploded. Then there was chaos."

Truter, who went to the scene of the explosion, told Die Burger on Sunday she saw partially burnt bodies strewn all over.

Streets are deserted

"We were horror-struck by the huge tragedy we encountered.

"By Sunday afternoon, emergency personnel wearing gloves were still gathering human remains. It was horrible. All the streets are deathly quiet. Kura, where the bomb exploded, is deserted.

"Just about all the shops are closed. All that is left of the Marconi Club is concrete and steel," she said.

"People are flocking to the Ngurarai airport in droves in a desperate bid to escape from the tourist mecca. Many additional flights were scheduled from Australia, to help the relatives of the dead to fly to Bali."

- Die Burger