Man Serving as Pallbearer Crushed to Death by Mother’s Falling Coffin

Samen Kondorura, 40, of Indonesia was killed after his mother’s coffin fell off the funeral tower during the service on the island of Sulawesi. The coffin was being carried by Kondorura and other pallbearers on a ladder up to an ornately carved raised tower called a lakkian. The deceased is placed in the lakkian before “elaborate traditional funeral rites.”

The ladder crumbled under the weight of the pallbearers and the coffin and fell 10 feet, hitting Kondorura. He passed away on the way to the hospital.

Julianto Sirait, the chief police commissioner in the North Toraja district, said the ladder “was not properly reinforced” but the family has decided not to press charges against the manufacturer. The son’s body now rests beside his mother’s.

“When an ethnic Torajan dies, some families spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on funerals. The funerals can go on for days and include feasts, dancing, and animal sacrifice.”

See Kathleen Joyce, Man Serving as Pallbearer Crushed to Death by Mother’s Falling Coffin, Fox News, June 19, 2018.