Solidarity Until the End

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Indonesian Navy ships, water police ships, and Indonesian Air Force Super Puma helicopters were used to search for victims and black boxes of the Sriwijaya Air SJ-182 aircraft that crashed in the waters of the Thousand Islands, DKI Jakarta, Monday (11/1/2021).

Simon Boyke Sinaga, 42, made two dives into the waters off Lancang Island in Thousands Islands regency on Monday (11/1). Together with other members of the search and rescue (SAR) team, Simon continued the search for victims and survivors of the Sriwijaya Air flight SJ-182 passenger jet.

Simon made his first dive at around 10 o’clock in the morning with two other divers. The KN SAR Wisnu, a state-owned vessel, departed Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT) 2 in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, to carry Simon and 10 other divers to the crash site to continue the SAR operation.

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On Monday, the team of divers found several sections of the fuselage and a bag containing a credit card and driver\'s license (SIM) issued for an individual from Pontianak, West Kalimantan. This was the destination of Sriwijaya Air flight SJ-182 that crashed on Saturday.

Once the human remains were placed in a body bag, they fell apart immediately.

On the second dive at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon, Simon and his team found other debris from the plane, including parts of passenger seats and several body parts.

"Once the human remains were placed in a body bag, they fell apart immediately," said Simon, a civil servant at the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry.

Also read: Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ-182 Crash

According to Simon, his team dived to depths of 17-20 meters. Visibility was very limited because of the muddy seafloor. Visibility was 4-5 meters during the first dive, while visibility had diminished to only about 1 meter on the second dive. Each time the dive team descended to assist in the search for plane wreckage or human remains, the mud was churned up to cloud the waters.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Indonesian Navy divers found pieces of Sriwijaya Air aircraft around Lancang Kecil Island, Thousand Islands, Jakarta, Sunday (10/1/2021).

Simon is one of 20 certified dive instructors from the Indonesian Diving Sports Association (POSSI) that have been recruited as volunteers to assist the SAR mission.

A number of other divers were taking a break at JICT 2, where the command center for the SAR operation has been set up. One of these divers was Ajie Oye, 58. He had just arrived from Makassar, South Sulawesi, after receiving a letter assigning him to join the team of volunteer SAR divers on Sunday (10/1). He took off immediately to Jakarta on Monday morning.

"As a diver who has the skills, what can I contribute to the country?" Ajie had asked himself. This was the question led him to volunteer for the humanitarian operation.

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Apart from the POSSI divers, other divers from the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police (Polri) and other organizations are taking part in the SAR mission, tirelessly combing the underwater crash site.

In addition to the divers, several vessels have been launched to support the SAR operation. One of these is the KRI Semarang-594, a hospital ship that is doubling as a diving support vessel. The ship has a mobile hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber aboard to help divers who run into trouble while carrying out their duties.

As a diver who has the skills, what can I contribute to the country?

Soon after reports emerged that the Sriwijaya Air flight had crashed into the sea, the KRI Semarang-594, captained by Lieut. Col. Afrilian, was ordered to divert from its course to Natuna, Riau Islands, where the Dharma Samudera Ceremony is to be held on 15 Jan. 2021. The hospital ship was sailing near Tanjung Uban in Riau Islands province when it received its new orders.

"We will be here for at least a week," said Second Lieut. Kurniawan, the chief engineer of KRI Semarang-594.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Joint officers searched for victims and black boxes of the Sriwijaya Air SJ-182 plane on the Jakarta-Pontianak route that crashed in the waters of the Thousand Islands,  DKI Jakarta, Monday (11/1/2021).

The ARA research vessel is also assisting in the SAR operation in the waters off Jakarta’s Thousand Islands regency. Skipper Dendi Malfian, 43, departed from Cirebon with two crew members on Monday.

The ship, measuring 12 meters long and 2.5 meters wide, is fitted with a mount for lowering the multibeam echosounder (MBES) into the sea. The research vessels is also equipped with other devices, including a Global Positioning System (GPS), a dual-channel single beam echo sounder, and a pH sensor. The equipment can be used to detect anomalies on the seabed to a maximum depth of 100 meters.

Identification

Activities increased at the Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Keramat Jati, East Jakarta, following the Sriwijaya Air disaster, with 306 Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) officers who have been assigned to help identify the bodies of the victims.

The head of the National Police’s Indonesian Automated Fingerprint Identification Center (Inafis), Brig. Gen. Hudi Suryanto, said the work of the Inafis team was not easy due to the condition of the recovered bodies. "The DVI team as a whole also works to identify [the bodies] using other ways, such as DNA samples and the victims’ clothing or belongings," he said.

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A team of psychologists provides trauma therapy. Fathimah, 31, of the Social Affairs Ministry’s task force, for example, on Monday helped calm Nurul, 53, who was unable to hold back her tears because her sister, Arneta Fauzia, 40, was one of the passengers aboard the plane.

Danny, 38, a psychological support coordinator from the National Police Hospital, has provided a team of 11 psychologists to assist the victims’ families on Monday.

National SAR Agency (Basarnas) chief Air Marshal Bagus Puruhito said that 3,818 people had been involved in the rescue operation from Saturday to Monday afternoon, comprising 795 Basarnas officers and 3,023 people from other organizations.

The humanitarian effort does not look to be ending anytime soon. The officers and volunteers involved are committed to completing their mission with determination and sincerity. (DAN/DIV/JOG/PDS/IKI/ESA)

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.