Human remains and Black boxes have been pulled from the crash site of an Indonesian passenger jet that plunged into the ocean minutes after takeoff on Saturday, 9 January, with 62 people on board.
Five body bags containing victims of the crash located by the national search and rescue agency (Basarnas) have so far been handed over to the disaster victim investigation unit in Jakarta for identification.
According to CNN, a small flotilla of ships has been searching the site, north of Jakarta and navy divers are expected to be able to retrieve the two flight recorders.
The Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737 was carrying 62 people when it vanished from radar on its journey to Borneo.
“We have located the position of the black boxes, both of them, said Soerjanto Tjahjono, head of Indonesia’s transport safety committee.
“Divers will start looking for them now and hopefully it won’t be long before we get them, he added.
The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, or black boxes as they are often called, store data about planes. They can provide vital information in air accident investigations.
A spokesman for the Jakarta police, Yusri Yunus, said two bags had been received from the search and rescue agency.
“The first bag contained passengers properties, another bag contained body parts, we are still identifying these findings, he said.
Police are asking families of the victims to provide DNA samples and dental records to help identify the remains.
The sea where the crash allegedly happened is relatively shallow and the bad weather which had been hampering rescue operations has now improved, making it more likely significant parts can be recovered.
However, the search appears to offer no hope of finding any survivors.
According to registration details, the plane was a 26-year-old Boeing 737-500.
”It was in good condition, take-off had been delayed for 30 minutes due to heavy rain, Sriwijaya Air chief executive Jefferson Irwin Jauwena said
Sriwijaya Air, founded in 2003, is a local budget airline which flies to Indonesian and other South-East Asian destinations.
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