Four minutes after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday afternoon, a Sriwijaya Air flight disappeared from radars and lost contact with air traffic controllers.
It is believed to have dropped more than 3,000m (10,000ft) in less than a minute after that, and didn’t even send a distress signal.
It’s feared to have crashed since it disappeared from radars while flying over the sea, and because some witnesses allegedly saw and heard a loud explosion in that area.
Some police officers and fishermen have also reportedly found some debris and clothes near the purported accident site, believed to be from the plane.
Now, we have more evidence that the plane did indeed crash into the sea.
Body Parts Found At Sriwijaya Air Crash Site
Two bags of body parts and debris were recovered from sea waters around 20km north of Jakarta.
The bags were handed over to the police disaster victim identification (DVI) department, which has already commenced investigations.
After the crash, 12 vessels, including four warships, were deployed in a search-and-rescue operation which involved around 50 people.
The focus of search operations has been in the waters between Laki island and Lancang island in the Thousand Islands, according to The Straits Times.
Earlier, the Indonesian Air Force discovered a fuel spill which covered a large part of the sea water south of Laki island.
Divers also found plane debris such as parts of the plane’s wheels, a torn steel alloy sheet with blue paint, as well as a child’s pink trousers.
May Have Received Signals From Airplane’s Black Box
The authorities scouring the waters for the aircraft may have received signals possibly coming from the aircraft’s black box.
Black boxes are electronic flight data recorders. Their role is to keep track of on-flight information, which includes recording flight data such as altitude, position, and speed, as well as all pilot conversations.
The emergency signals may help the authorities find the black box, which in turn could help them determine the cause of the crash.
“We have marked the spots with buoys and will immediately deploy divers there” search and rescue agency Basarnas chief Bagus Puruhito said.
62 People On Board Flight
The Sriwijaya Air jet was on an estimated 90-minute domestic flight from Jakarta to Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan province on Indonesia’s Borneo island.
The flight was initially delayed for 30 minutes due to heavy rain, and lost contact with air traffic controllers four minutes after take-off.
62 passengers were on board the aircraft, including 40 adults, 7 children, and three infants.
There were also 12 airline employees who were on the plane, including six who were operating the flight.
Soerjanto Tjahjanto, the head of the national transport safety committee, said all the people on board were Indonesians.
As for the body parts recovered, DNA tests will be carried out to match with samples taken from relatives of the passengers.
The Indonesian police has appealed to the families of the victims to come forward to the Kramat Jati police hospital in East Jakarta.
Featured Image: Corvin.Y.O / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purpose only)
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