Rescue workers search for clues to crash<\/p>\n
By Budiman Moerdijat<\/p>\n
PALEMBANG, South Sumatra (JP): Indonesian and Singaporean
\nminesweepers began combing the waters around the Musi River
\nestuary yesterday in an attempt to locate the main fuselage of
\nthe SilkAir plane which crashed Friday.<\/p>\n
Col. Nuranto, commander of the Palembang naval base, said KRI
\nFatahillah, an Indonesian antisubmarine ship, conducted sonar
\ndetection operations for about an hour yesterday afternoon.<\/p>\n
\"We will use every available equipment we have to locate the
\nfuselage,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A Singapore ship, RSN Punggol, also joined the operation.<\/p>\n
But by late yesterday afternoon no immediate result was
\ndivulged.<\/p>\n
\"We are still evaluating the results. As soon as we get any we
\nwill announce it. We won't conceal anything, we will inform the
\npress,\" Nuranto said.<\/p>\n
SilkAir flight MI-185 crashed on its regular flight from
\nJakarta to Singapore. All 104 passengers and crew are feared
\ndead.<\/p>\n
Witnesses say the plane exploded before falling into the
\nriver's estuary, about 70 kilometers from Palembang.<\/p>\n
Divers have failed to recover any intact bodies and have only
\nrecovered fragments of the plane including a piece of the wing
\nand rudder.<\/p>\n
The search for the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice
\nrecorder of the plane, known as the \"black box\", also remains
\nelusive.<\/p>\n
Divers and military officers at the scene said there was no
\nnew development or major finds yesterday.<\/p>\n
Lt. Imam Hidayat, commander of the Indonesian navy ship KAL
\nGombora, one of the coordinating ships, believes the debris found
\nso far represents a mere 10 percent of the plane.<\/p>\n
He said divers have had difficulty locating remains in the
\nmurky river.<\/p>\n
\"The depth of the river is six to seven meters but the
\nriverbed is covered by another two meters of mud,\" Imam said.<\/p>\n
Another Indonesian minesweeper, KRI Soputan, from Surabaya,
\nEast Java, will join the search and is expected to arrive this
\nevening or tomorrow morning.<\/p>\n
Several other Indonesian naval ships have also joined in the
\nsearch and rescue operation.<\/p>\n
Singapore currently has four ships, two in the Bangka Straits
\nand two vessels on the river.<\/p>\n
Lt. Imam Hidayat said the team of Indonesian divers comprises
\n35 from the Navy, 12 from the police, eight from the sea and
\ncoastal patrol and 14 from the marine corps. Forty Singapore navy
\ndivers are also participating in the search.<\/p>\n
Late yesterday afternoon, about 70 relatives of passengers on
\nthe plane conducted a prayer service on board the Ekspress Bahari
\nIII ferry which circled the crash site.<\/p>\n
A Buddhist monk led the prayers on the open upper deck of the
\nferry as family members burned incense and threw flowers into the
\nriver.<\/p>\n
Singapore's Minister for Communications Mah Bow Tan arrived in
\nPalembang yesterday and said no effort would be spared in the
\nsearch operations.<\/p>\n
In Singapore, AFP reported that SilkAir officials have refused
\nto rule out sabotage in the crash.<\/p>\n
\"We are not ruling out anything. We are not speculating. The
\ninvestigation will have to take its course,\" said Rick Clements,
\nsenior public affairs manager of SilkAir, in response to comments
\nby Indonesian officials who said that sabotage was unlikely.<\/p>\n
He said the airline had \"not received reports of any bomb
\nthreat and no claims of responsibility have been received\".<\/p>\n
Gopi Bala, SilkAir manager in Indonesia, said the pilot's last
\nrequest was to switch over to Singapore air traffic control to
\ntake over guidance of the plane.<\/p>\n
He said the request was a normal procedure for planes when
\nthey are moving out of the range of the departure country and
\napproaching the air space of the destination country.<\/p>",
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