Indonesia ends search for crash debris

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian authorities on Thursday ended the search for any remaining victims and debris from a Sriwijaya Air jet that nose-dived into the Java Sea, killing all 62 people on board.

Transportation minister Budi Karya Sumadi said recovery operations have ended after nearly two weeks, but that a limited search for the missing memory unit from the cockpit voice recorder will continue.

The memory unit apparently broke away from other parts of the voice recorder during the crash. Divers found its battered casing and cover last week near where the flight data recorder was recovered three days after the accident.

The Boeing 737-500 jet crashed Jan. 9, minutes after taking off from Jakarta, the capital.

Searchers have recovered plane parts and human remains from an area between Lancang and Laki islands in the Thousand Island chain just north of Jakarta.

The government will provide a ship to take relatives to the crash site for a memorial ceremony today, Sumadi said.

(AP/Dita Alangkara) Navy personnel talk Thursday at the Port of Tanjung Priok in Jakarta, Indonesia, near pieces of the Sriwijaya Air jet that crashed into the Java Sea on Jan. 9. More photos at arkansasonline.com/122sriwijaya/.