Indonesian rescuers find 54 bodies at plane crash site
Rescuers have discovered the bodies of all the 54 people who had been on board a passenger plane that recently crashed in rugged terrain in Indonesia’s east over the weekend.
“There are no survivors. All 54 bodies have been found,” Indonesian Transport Ministry spokesman J.A. Barata said on Tuesday.
Search and rescue chief Bambang Soelistyo also said rescue teams reached the remote crash site at 9:30 a.m. local time (0030 GMT).
He said that the ATR 42-300 twin-turboprop plane was “completely destroyed,” adding, “Everything was in pieces and part of the plane is burnt. We could see burn marks on some pieces.”
Black box found
Soelistyo also said that the plane’s black box has been recovered, which could clarify the circumstances surrounding the aviation disaster.
There was also no information about the 6.5 billion rupiah (470,000 dollars) that the turboprop plane reportedly had on board. The large sum of money was intended to be distributed among poor and needy families as social assistance funds.
The flight had departed from Papua’s provincial capital of Jayapura City, and was headed to the far-flung and mountainous settlement of Oksibil. The flight was scheduled to take about 45 minutes.
The incident is the latest to hit Indonesia’s aviation sector.
On August 12, one person was killed and five others sustained serious injuries when a Cessna propeller plane operated by the small airline Komala Air crashed in Papua’s Yahukimo district.
In June, an Indonesian military aircraft went down in the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan, claiming 142 lives.
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