In the midst of the hard work in search for victims of the Sriwijaya Air SJ-182 PK-CLC plane crash, the team also intensified its search for black boxes.
By
KOMPAS TEAM
·5 minutes read
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — In the midst of the hard work in search for victims of the Sriwijaya Air SJ-182 PK-CLC plane crash, the team also intensified its search for black boxes. On Tuesday (12/1/2021), the Baruna Jaya IV research vessel was deployed to assist efforts to find the black boxes.
The black boxes contain, among other things, data regarding the plane’s flight. The discovery of the black boxes will help investigate the cause of the plane crash.
The Sriwijaya Air SJ-182 PK-CLC plane on a flight from Jakarta to Pontianak, West Kalimantan, lost contact on Saturday (9/1) at 2:40 p.m. The plane crashed in the waters of the Thousand Islands chain, Jakarta. There were 62 people on the plane, including 40 adult passengers, seven children, three babies and 12 crew members.
"We just met the victims\' families to convey the government\'s efforts to maximize the search for [the victims]," said Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, Monday (11/1).
According to him, the focus was on finding the victims because the families were waiting and expecting certainty. "The search for the black boxes continues to be carried out intensively, but the search for the victims and attention to the families of the victims are our focus," said Budi.
In an effort to find the black boxes, according to National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) chairman Soerjanto Tjahjono, the team has since Sunday been diving using the pinker finder owned by the KNKT. "Yesterday afternoon, due to heavy rain, we asked to stop the search because it endangered the divers," he said.
We just met the victims\' families to convey the government\'s efforts to maximize the search for [the victims].
On Sunday evening, the team used inflatable boats to create a boundary for the search for the black boxes. "It is known as a triangle, in order to narrow the area where the two black boxes are present," said Soerjanto.
He said he hoped the two black boxes would be found soon because they were very vital in the investigation. The black box data is a key reference for the investigation team.
"The KNKT together with Basarnas and the TNI are optimizing the search for the black boxes. Tomorrow we will dispatch the Baruna Jaya IV ship with additional equipment which may soon find the black boxes,” said Soerjanto, referring to the National Search and Rescue Agency and the Indonesian Military.
2,600 people
The search in the waters of the Thousand Islands chain on Monday involved approximately 2,600 personnel. A total of 60 organizations or agencies were involved in the search. The area of the search covers 330 square nautical miles (1,131.87 square kilometers).
A total of 53 ships were involved in the search, from 30 previously. There were also 20 smaller means of transport, including sea riders, jet skis and rigid inflatable boats (RIB). A total of 13 planes were on standby waiting for calls from Basarnas, ministries and agencies, and other institutions.
Regarding the search for the victims, according to Basarnas chief Air Marshal (Ret.) Bagus Puruhito, on Monday, 56 body bags were collected, while on Sunday there were 18 bags containing human bodies. So, a total of 74 body bags were collected by Monday evening. The bags containing the bodies were taken to the Raden Said Sukanto Police Hospital, East Jakarta. The parts of the bodies found were then identified.
Finger prints
On Monday, identification succeeded in recognizing the body of one victim. The body was identified by matching fingerprints on files compiled by the team.
The head of the Center for Indonesia Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (Inafis) of the National Police, Brig. Gen. Hudi Suryanto, said the data reconstruction process identified a male victim named Okky Bisma. He was 29 years old, and domiciled in Jakarta. Oki was a registered passenger in the aircraft manifest.
Head of the Public Information Bureau of the National Police Public Relations Division, Brig. Gen. Rusdi Hartono, said the joint team had obtained a total of 53 DNA samples from families yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team of the Lampung Police has sent antemortem data of three Lampung residents, who were victims of the Sriwijaya Air plane crash. The three, Sugiono Efendi, 37; Yohanes, 27; and Pipit Piyono, 25, were residents of Toto Makmur village, Batu Putih district, Tulang Bawang Barat regency, Lampung.
The head of the Lampung Police\'s Medical and Health Division, Sr. Comr. Andri Badarsyah, said officers went to the victims\' family home on Sunday to collect the antemortem data. Apart from DNA samples from the victims\' parents, the officers also collected fingerprints, dental structures and other medical examinations.
In South Sumatra, Yusri Lanita, 48, the mother of the Sriwijaya Air SJ-182 plane crash victim, Indah Halimah Putri, 26, visited Bhayangkara Hospital Palembang, Monday. She underwent an antemortem examination as the initial data for the victim identification.
Indah flew with her husband Rizki Wahyudi, 27, son, Arkana Nadhif, 7 months, and mother-in-law named Rosi Wahyuni. Her nephew, Nabila Anjani, also came along.
The head of the South Sumatra Police’s Medical and Health Division, Sr. Comr. Syamsul Bahar, said the arrival of the victims\' families was aimed at undergoing antemortem examination, such as DNA examination, dental structure examination, medical data, and various other examinations. The data will be sent to the National Police’s Center for Medicine and Health, Jakarta. (JOG/JOG/ RAM/ VIO/ESA/IGA/CAS/PDS/DIV/DAN