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JAKARTA: Friends and relatives of those aboard a Sriwijaya Air plane that disappeared shortly after takeoff on Saturday (January 9) were anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones.
The plane was supposed to fly from Jakarta to Pontianak in West Kalimantan province. There were 62 people, including 10 children on board.
“I’m hoping for a miracle, although judging by the circumstances, I know the chances of finding them alive are slim,” said Muhammad Haekal, whose cousin Athar Rizki Riawan and four other members of his family were aboard flight SJY182.
“I hope (the rescuers) at least recover their bodies so we can give them proper burials.”
Haekal said he and other family members rushed to Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport upon hearing the news. “We couldn’t believe it and when officials confirmed they were among those on board, we were devastated,” he told CNA.
Riawan, he said, had just been reassigned to work in West Kalimantan province. His eight-month-old son, his wife, his mother-in-law and another cousin traveled with him on the flight.
READ: Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air Plane Suspected Crashed With Over 60 On Board; search and rescue in progress
Mr. Arya Kharisma Hadi also expected a miracle for his friend Mr. Mulyadi and three family members who were with him on the flight. Mr. Mulyadi, like many Indonesians, has a name.
“I really hope that somehow, through some miracle, they survive. I really hope they are alive, ”he said.
Mdm Betty Saprianti said that four of her relatives were on the flight: her aunt, her uncle, her cousin and her cousin’s daughter.
“I pray to Allah, I hope Allah will give us a miracle and save their lives. I am not prepared to face the alternatives. Please, Allah, save them. “
Meanwhile, the sister of a flight crew who requested anonymity said: “My family is really shocked, especially my elderly mother.”
“That’s why I told him not to come to the airport. I really wish the rescuers found my sister alive, ”she told CNA at the Soekarno-Hatta airport as tears rolled down her eyes.
At a news conference Saturday night, Transportation Ministry spokeswoman Adita Irawati said the plane appeared to have deviated from its route shortly before disappearing.
The air traffic controller tried to communicate with the plane, but it disappeared seconds later, he said.
A flight tracking map showing Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 after taking off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. (Image: Twitter / Flightradar24)
Earlier, a spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Transport said that commercial flight SJY182 took off at around 2.36pm (West Indonesian time) and was scheduled to land in Pontianak at 4.15pm.
“The control tower’s last contact with the plane was at 2:40 p.m., before contact was lost,” the spokesman said.
The search and rescue agency said at a press conference that debris was found between Laki Island and Lancang Island in north Jakarta, but could not confirm whether it was from the plane.
Search and rescue operations will drag on overnight if necessary, the agency said, although it noted there are visibility problems.
Sriwijaya Air has around 19 Boeing jets flying to destinations in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
The head of the national transport safety committee, Soerjanto Tjahjanto, said that all the passengers were Indonesians.
“That is why we have not notified other countries apart from the United States (since the plane was a Boeing),” he said.
