VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi, on Thursday said the search and rescue (SAR) operation for the victims and the wreckage of the Sriwijaya Air flight SJ-182 has been officially terminated.

"Today is the last day of the extension (operation) of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas). With various considerations, we close the SAR operation today," the minister said at a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday.

Basarnas conducted the operation for seven days and extended it twice by three days each. A total of 324 body bags were found during the operation.

"We express our gratitude to the DVI team at the Police Hospital for identifying 43 victims and God willing, I hear that today at 5 p.m. WIB, there will be more identified, and of the 43 victims, 32 (bodies) have been handed over to families," Sumadi informed.

PT Jasa Raharja has provided compensation to 39 families and Sriwijaya has compensated one family so far, he added.

"I also heard that there are already additional heirs, at least five people who will be delivered (compensation) soon," he said.

The Minister of Transportation also expressed his gratitude for the hard work of the joint search and rescue team, which comprised personnel from the Ministry of Transportation, Basarnas, the military, the police, the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), and volunteers.

Even though the search was stopped, Sumadi said he will ensure search efforts continue, such as diverting operations to the NTSC.

The NTSC has reached an agreement with the military and the police to carry out further operations on Lancang Island, Seribu Islands, Jakarta.

"Of course, what is being done includes efforts to find a CVR, where the President also hopes that a CVR can be found. So that the analysis carried out by the NTSC will be complete," he said.

The Sriwijaya Air flight SJ-182, bearing the registration number PK-CLC, lost contact on Saturday (January 9, 2020) at 2:40 p.m. Western Indonesia time (WIB) shortly after take-off and crashed between Lancang Island and Laki Island, Seribu Islands, Jakarta. The flight was traveling on the Jakarta-Pontianak route.

The Boeing 737-500 aircraft lost contact at a position 11 nautical miles north of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang after crossing an altitude of 11 thousand feet and while climbing to an altitude of 13 thousand feet.

The plane took off from Soekarno-Hatta Airport at 2.36 p.m. Western Indonesia time (WIB) on Saturday. Its schedule was delayed from the previous flight schedule of 1.35 p.m. WIB due to weather conditions.

Based on the manifest, the aircraft, which was produced in 1994, was carrying 62 persons: 50 passengers and 12 crew members. The passengers comprised 40 adults, seven children, and three babies. (antaranews)