Man crushed to death in Indonesia when own mother’s coffin fell on him

A grieving son has been crushed to death after his own mother’s coffin fell from a traditional funeral tower in Indonesia.

The moment Samen Kondorura, 40, died was caught on mobile phone video footage of the ceremony.

It shows pallbearers losing their footing while carrying the casket up a bamboo ladder in the country’s North Toraja region on the country's South Sulawesi island. The coffin falls several metres, trapping people underneath.

Mr Kondorura suffered severe head injuries, the Tribun Torja reports. He died on his way to hospital.

“As the mother’s coffin was being raised to the lakkian [a ceremonial tower], suddenly the ladder shifted and collapsed, and the coffin fell and hit the victim,” Julianto Sirait, the area’s chief police commissioner is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

He added that the accident happened because the ladder was not properly reinforced but the family has declined to press charges.

The body of Mr Kondorura is now resting alongside that of his mother Berta.