Indonesia wraps up air crash victim identification

JAKARTA: Indonesia on Friday wrapped up the grim task of identifying Lion Air jet crash victims from recovered body parts, with a preliminary report on the cause of the accident that killed 189 people due next week.

The Boeing 737 Max jet — one of the world’s newest and most advanced commercial planes — plunged into the Java Sea on October 29 shortly after taking off from capital Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang city, killing all on board.

Since then, investigators have been doing DNA testing on recovered body parts. As of Friday, 125 people have been identified after testing on human remains that filled some 200 body bags, said Arthur Tampi, head of the national police medical centre.

“We have identified 89 men and 36 women, including two foreigners, namely an Italian and an Indian national” who was the flight’s captain, Tampi told reporters in Jakarta.

The identification was being called off because all the recovered remains have been tested, he added.

Budget carrier Lion Air has said it is paying a little over $100,000 in compensation to the families of each crash victim.

The smashed jet’s flight data recorder was recovered but divers are still looking for the cockpit voice recorder.

A formal preliminary report on what might have caused the crash is due on Wednesday.

So far, investigators have said the doomed plane had problems with its air-speed indicator and angle of attack (AOA) sensors prompting Boeing to issue a special bulletin directing operators what to do when they face the same situation. — AFP