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JAKARTA: Authorities found more debris than they suspect may be parts of the Sriwijaya Air SJ 182 plane that disappeared on Sunday (January 10) as rescuers race against time to find the passengers and the plane.
Rescuers also said they recovered five bags with body parts and sent them to the police hospital for identification.
The Indonesian airline’s commercial jet disappeared from radar screens on Saturday just four minutes after taking off at 2:36 p.m. local time (3.36 p.m. Singapore time) from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Greater Jakarta. The Boeing 737-500 was heading to Pontianak, West Kalimantan.
Air Chief Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto, who boarded a search and rescue boat on Sunday, said divers found parts of the plane, including debris bearing the plane’s registration number and debris in the airline’s colors a a depth of 23 meters in the sea north of Jakarta. .
“We have reports from divers that visibility in the waters is good and clear, allowing them to find some parts of the plane,” the military commander said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the head of the National Transportation Safety Committee, Soerjanto Tjahjono, said his team has been deployed with equipment that can detect underwater objects, including the two components of the black box: the cockpit voice recorder ( CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR).
READ: Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air plane crashes after takeoff with 62 on board
Both recorders are crucial as they will reveal what happened to the flight.
Also among the debris found Sunday were a children’s pink blouse, a yellow safety vest and tire parts.
Authorities show suspected wreckage of the missing Sriwijaya SJ 182 plane at the Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta on January 10, 2021 (Photo: Kiki Siregar)
These were turned over to the relevant authorities, said Brigadier General Rasman MS, mission coordinator for the search and rescue agency.
“We will hand over the pink blouse to the Disaster Victims Identification teams, while the material that is suspected of being part of the plane, such as the safety vest, we will hand over to the National Transportation Safety Committee,” he told reporters. .
Earlier on Saturday night, officials also managed to find suspicious wreckage from the plane and sent it to the relevant parties for identification.
Jakarta police spokesman Yusri Yunus told CNA that there were body parts among the findings.
Personnel spray disinfectant in bags of recovered body parts at Tanjung Priok port on January 10, 2021. (Photo: Kiki Siregar)
VOLUNTEER DIVERS DEPLOYED
Sriwijaya Air SJ 182 had 62 people on board, including seven children and three babies.
Authorities believe the plane sank in the waters north of Jakarta, around Laki Island and Lancang, part of the Thousand Islands chain.
Tracking service Flightradar24 reported that the plane climbed to 10,900 feet within four minutes of departure, then began a steep descent. It stopped transmitting data 21 seconds later.
A flight tracking map showing Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 after taking off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. (Image: Twitter / Flightradar24)
The fishermen CNA spoke with said they saw something fall from the sky into the ocean and then heard a huge explosion as the plane disappeared from radar screens.
READ: ‘Waiting for a miracle’: Anxious wait for friends and family after Sriwijaya Air plane disappeared in Indonesia
The search to find SJ 182 is an extensive operation involving several staff members from Basarnas, the Indonesian rescue agency, the National Committee for Transport Safety, the military, the police, the transport ministry, and volunteers.
On Sunday afternoon, 18 volunteer divers were deployed to find the missing aircraft.
“Today we can probably do two dives. Tomorrow we can also continue diving ”, said Mr. Hendrata Yudha, who is a diving instructor and will be in charge of the logistics of the group of volunteers.
Volunteer divers prepare in Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok port to find the missing Sriwijaya Air SJ 182 aircraft on January 10, 2021 (Photo: Kiki Siregar).
A Basarnas staff, who wanted to remain anonymous, told CNA that with the COVID-19 pandemic, the operation is more risky.
However, regular tests have been carried out for the virus and the last test was conducted last week.
Indonesia has reported more than 800,000 COVID-19 cases, the highest number in Southeast Asia.
President Joko Widodo sent his condolences to the families of the passengers and crew of the missing plane on Sunday.
