Searchers honing in on jet crash site
Indonesian rescuers pulled out body parts, pieces of clothing and scraps of metal from the Java Sea yesterday, a day after a Boeing 737-500 with 62 people onboard crashed shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, officials said.
Officials were hopeful they were honing in on the wreckage of Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 after sonar equipment detected a signal from the aircraft.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi told reporters that authorities have launched massive search efforts after identifying ‘‘the possible location of the crash site.’’
‘‘These pieces were found by the SAR team between Lancang Island and Laki Island,’’ National Search and Rescue Agency Bagus Puruhito in a statement.
Indonesian military chief Air Chief
Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said teams on the Rigel navy ship equipped with a remote-operated vehicle had detected a signal from the aircraft, which fit the coordinates from the last contact made by the pilots before the plane went missing.
‘‘We have immediately deployed our divers from navy’s elite unit to determine the finding to evacuate the victims,’’ Tjahjanto said.
More than 12 hours since the Boeing plane operated by the Indonesian airline lost contact, little is known about what caused the crash.
Fishermen in the area around Thousand Islands, a chain of islands north of Jakarta’s coast, reported hearing an explosion around 2.30pm Saturday local time. ‘‘We heard something explode, we thought it was a bomb or a tsunami since after that we saw the big splash from the water,’’ fisherman Solihin, who goes by one name, said.
‘‘It was raining heavily and the weather was so bad. So it is difficult to see around clearly. But we can see the splash and a big wave after the sounds. We were very shocked and directly saw the plane debris and the fuel around our boat.’’
Sumadi said Flight SJ182 was delayed for an hour before it took off at 2.36pm. It disappeared from radar four minutes later, after the pilot contacted air traffic control to ascend to an altitude of 29,000 feet (8,839 metres), he said.
There were 62 people on board, including seven children and three babies.
‘‘We are aware of media reports from Jakarta regarding Sriwijaya Air flight SJ-182,’’ Boeing said in a statement. ‘‘Our thoughts are with the crew, passengers, and their families. We are in contact with our airline customer and stand ready to support them during this difficult time.’’