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JAKARTA (AFP) – Body parts and debris were transported from waters near the Indonesian capital on Sunday (January 10) from a Boeing passenger jet that crashed shortly after takeoff with 62 people on board.
The Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 sank in a steep fall about four minutes after leaving Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta on Saturday afternoon.
The reasons for the crash have not yet been given, and authorities focused on a frenzied search and rescue effort that seemed to offer no hope of finding survivors.
“As of this morning, we have received two bags (for bodies), one with the belongings of the passengers and the other with the body parts,” Jakarta police spokesman Yusri Yunus told Metro TV.
The discovery came when a flotilla of warships, helicopters and divers deployed off the coast of the sprawling city on Sunday.
On board were 62 passengers and crew, including 10 children, all of them Indonesians, according to authorities.
Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 was destined for the city of Pontianak in the Indonesian section of the island of Borneo, about a 90-minute flight over the Java Sea.
It crashed into the Java Sea near the most popular tourist islands for day trips off the coast.
Anguished relatives waited nervous news at the Pontianak airport on Saturday night.
“I have four family members on the flight: my wife and three children,” Yaman Zai said while sobbing. “(My wife) sent me a picture of the baby today … How is it possible that my heart does not break into pieces?”
Authorities said Sunday they would continue their search by sea and air while also using sonar radar to detect more signals from the downed plane.
Divers marked at least three sites at the site of the alleged orange balloon accident, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.
“Based on our observation, it is strongly believed that the coordinates match those of the aircraft’s last signal contact,” said Hadi Tjahjanto, head of the Indonesian army.
Hundreds of search and rescue personnel, the navy, the police, with 10 warships also participated in the search effort.
Data from FlightRadar24 said the plane reached an altitude of nearly 11,000 feet (3,350 meters) before suddenly dropping to 250 feet. Then he lost contact with air traffic control.
Indonesian Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said on Saturday that the plane appeared to deviate from its intended course just before disappearing from radar.
Sriwijaya Air, which has around 19 Boeing jets flying to destinations in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, has only said it was investigating the loss of contact.
He had no immediate comment when contacted by AFP again on Sunday.
In October 2018, 189 people were killed when a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max plane crashed into the Java Sea about 12 minutes after take off from Jakarta on a routine one-hour flight.
That crash, and a subsequent fatal flight in Ethiopia, saw Boeing levy $ 2.5 billion (S $ 3.31 billion) in fines for accusations of defrauding regulators overseeing the grounded 737 Max around the world. after the two fatal accidents.
The plane that fell on Saturday is not a Max model and was 26 years old, according to authorities.
In its opening statements about Saturday’s crash, Boeing did not offer immediate information on the cause.
“We are aware of the Jakarta media reports regarding Sriwijaya Air flight SJ-182. Our thoughts are with the crew, passengers and their families,” the US-based aircraft manufacturer said in a statement. “We are in contact with our airline’s customer and we are ready to support them during this difficult time.”
Indonesia’s aviation sector has long suffered from a reputation for poor safety, and its airlines were once banned from entering US and European airspace.
In 2014, an AirAsia plane crashed with the loss of 162 lives.
The final report from national investigators on the AirAsia crash showed a chronically faulty component in a rudder control system, poor maintenance and inadequate response from pilots were major factors in what was supposed to be a routine flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
A year later, in 2015, more than 140 people, including people on the ground, were killed when a military plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Medan, on the island of Sumatra.
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