On Sunday, Indonesian divers found pieces of the Boeing 737-500 wreckage at a depth of 23 metres (75 feet) in the Java Sea, one day after the aircraft crashed with 62 passengers on board shortly after taking off from Jakarta.
“In a statement, Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said, “We got information from the diver team that the visibility in the water is strong and clear, enabling the detection of certain parts of the aircraft.” We are sure that is the point where the plane crashed.”
He said damaged fragments of fuselage with aircraft registration sections were included in the items.
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Earlier, rescuers pulled out body parts, clothing pieces, and metal scraps from the surface.
The current conditions and the view under the sea are ideally still good until this afternoon, so that we can continue the search,” he said.
The search break for Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 occurred after the sonar equipment on a navy vessel sensed an aircraft signal at a position that matched the coordinates of the pilots’ last touch before the aircraft went missing on Saturday afternoon.
What caused the accident is still unknown. There was no trace of survivors.
“In expressing my deep sympathy for this tragedy, I represent the government and all Indonesians,” President Joko Widodo said.
“We are doing our best to save the victims. We pray together so that the victims can be found,” he added, adding that he had ordered an inquiry by the National Transport Safety Committee.
Fishermen confirmed hearing an explosion at about 2:30 pm Saturday in the area between Lancang and Laki Islands, part of the archipelago around the Thousand Islands north of the coast of Jakarta.
“We heard something explode, we thought it was a bomb or a tsunami, as we saw a big splash of water after that,” Solihin, who goes by one name, told The Associated Press by phone.
It had rained heavily and the temperature had been so terrible. And it’s impossible to easily see around. But after the sounds, we could see a splash and a large wave. We were very surprised and saw the aircraft wreckage and the fuel near our boat right away.
Flight SJ182 was delayed for an hour until it took off at 2:36pm, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said. Four minutes later, after the pilot approached air traffic control to climb to an altitude of 29,000 feet (8,839 metres), it vanished from the radar, he said.
62 passengers, including seven children and three infants, were on board.
In a tweet, Boeing said, “We are aware of media reports from Jakarta regarding Sriwijaya Air flight SJ-182,” “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.”
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Two crisis centres were set up by the government, one at the airport and one at the port. Families assembled to wait for loved ones to hear the news.
People started spreading the flight manifesto on social media with images and videos of those who were identified as passengers. One video shows a woman waving goodbye while walking through the airport with her son.
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