"Profound sadness": Bali bombing hero dies at age 67
Bali bombings survivor and hero Erik de Haart has died at the age of 67.
The Sydney man was in Bali in 2002 with his Coogee Dolphins rugby league team when terrorists detonated bombs in two busy bars, killing 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Mr De Haart was dubbed a hero after he was credited with pulling people out of the wreckage.
He died aged 67 died of a suspected heart attack on Sunday.
De Haart was a lifelong member of the Coogee Dolphins, with club president Wayne Hack issuing a statement after his tragic passing.
“It is with profound sadness that we advise of the sudden passing of Coogee Dolphins life member Erik de Haart,” he said. “Erik was a loyal servant, life member and sponsor of our club."
“He will forever be remembered in the immediate aftermath of the Bali tragedy of 2002 as a hero. Erik continued his ongoing support of the Coogee Dolphins for many years and in 2005 was honoured with a life membership."
“The Coogee Dolphins would like to extend our deepest and heartfelt sympathies to Erik’s immediate and extended family and his many friends.”
During the devastating 2002 attack in Bali, de Haart lost six of his friends but still helped save others by pulling them from the burning rubble.
"I heard these girls crying for help, screaming. They were behind a section of the roof that had fallen in," de Haart told AAP in 2016.
"The flames from the burning thatch were probably knee to mid-thigh high. I had to make a decision. Do I try and get them out and perhaps die in the attempt?"
"I had to walk away and leave those girls to die and it's something that's haunted me for a long, long time ... It's made me feel like an impostor."
"People say 'you're a hero'. And I remember those girls and I don't think I'm a hero."
Image credits: SBS / Insight