SYDNEY: Australian Hanabeth Luke remembers like yesterday crawling through burning rubble and thick acrid black smoke after a bomb exploded at a nightclub in Indonesia's tourist hotspot of Bali 20 years ago.
A total of 202 people, including 88 Australians, were killed when a car bomb exploded on Oct 12, 2002 outside the Sari Club and from another blast less than a minute earlier at Paddy's Bar across the road.
It remains the single largest lost of life from an act of terror in Australian history. The country will remember the victims on Wednesday with the government hosting a memorial service at the parliament house in Canberra.
"We can't bring those people back, but we can live the most, the best versions of our lives," Luke told Reuters.
Luke, then 22 years old, escaped the burning building through the collapsed roof and scaled a three metre (10 foot) wall over electrical wires to jump to safety, frantically searching for her then partner, Marc Gajado, amongst the chaos outside.
Gajado, who did not survive the blast, was walking towards the front of the building when the bomb exploded.
As she searched for Gajado, Luke came across badly injured 17-year-old Tom Singer, helping lift him to his feet.
"I said, mate I don't care if both of your legs are broken, you're going to get up and we're going to use both of our strengths and get you out of here," Luke said.
A photo of Luke helping the severely burnt Singer, who died one month later in hospital, was splashed across newspapers globally after the tragedy, with some calling her the "Angel of Bali".
"The nightmare is that, still 20 years later, Marc's never going to come back," said Luke, who now lives in Evans Head, 700 km (435 miles) north of Sydney, with her partner, Kieran, and two children.
"(Marc's) parents will never see him again. Tom Singer's parents, they're the most wonderful people, their whole family, they've been rocked."
Reuters
Tue Oct 11 2022
Bali bombing survivor, Dr Hanabeth Luke reads the names of Australians killed in the October 2002 terrorist attack, ahead of the 20th anniversary of the attack, at the Bali Memorial in Sydney, Australia October 10, 2022. - REUTERS
Liga Parlimen Al-Quds: Malaysia kongsi pengalaman perjuang nasib rakyat Palestin - Syed Ibrahim
Delegasi negara berkongsikan pengalaman Malaysia sebagai usaha berterusan mempertahankan nasib Palestin dalam Persidangan Liga Parlimen Al-Quds di Istanbul, Turki pada Sabtu.
Akta Laut Wilayah masih sah, terpakai termasuk di Terengganu - PMO
Akta Laut Wilayah 2012 (Akta 750) masih sah dan terpakai di seluruh Malaysia termasuk di Terengganu, walaupun Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Terengganu membuat keputusan menolak pemakaiannya.
Yakeb sasar 1,000 bekas atlet baharu tahun ini
Yakeb menyasarkan seramai 1,000 bekas atlet dapat berdaftar di bawah yayasan itu sepanjang tahun ini. Yayasan Kebajikan Atlet K
Pulau Pinang mahu perbanyak kedai makan mesra muslim
Kerajaan Pulau Pinang berhasrat memperbanyakkan kemudahan terutama kedai makan mesra Muslim bagi memperkasakan lagi industri pelancongan di negeri ini.
Tiga firma semikonduktor mahu labur AS$100 juta di Pulau Pinang - Chow
Syarikat berkenaan adalah China Wafer Level CSP Co (WLCSP), Ningbo SJ Electronics Co (SJE) dan Wuxi AMTE Inc (AMTE).
Johor pastikan masalah bekalan air ketika perayaan tidak berulang
Kerajaan negeri akan berusaha memastikan sifar masalah bekalan air pada hari raya tahun hadapan dengan beberapa langkah telah diambil.
41 kes kebakaran terbuka di Gua Musang sejak Februari - Bomba
Aktiviti pembakaran terutamanya di kebun, ladang dan hutan perlu dielakkan ketika musim panas ini.
Runtuhan bangunan di Gaza akan ambil masa 14 tahun untuk dialihkan - Pegawai PBB
Serangan Israel telah meninggalkan runtuhan yang dianggarkan seberat 37 juta tan dalam satu wilayah yang padat dengan penduduk.
Fokus Minggu Depan: Gelanggang PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu dibuka
Ikuti kupasan Timbalan Ketua (Strategi), Ibu Pejabat Asia UNSDSN, Universiti Sunway, Prof. Wong Chin Huat mengenai Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Kuala Kubu Baharu yang bermula seusai proses penamaan calon pada Sabtu.
Wanita lintas jalan hingga akibatkan kemalangan direman
Seorang wanita berusia 35 tahun yan melintas jalan sehingga mengakibatkan berlakunya kemalangan maut di KM98.6 LPT 1 direman dua hari.