SilkAir search extended for three days<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The search for the remains of the SilkAir MI-185
\nairplane which was due to end yesterday has been extended for
\nanother three days to allow recently brought in dredgers to
\ncomplete their work.<\/p>\n
\"Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto, through the
\nhead of the National Search and Rescue Agency, Commodore Harinto,
\ninstructed the operation to be extended until Monday,\" Commander
\nof the Palembang Air Force Base Lt. Col. Yanuwardi told The
\nJakarta Post by phone.<\/p>\n
He said the operation was extended as a dredger named Moshasi
\nsent by the Singaporean government arrived at the crash site only
\nWednesday and it had proved successful in finding some remains of
\nthe plane.<\/p>\n
The SilkAir Boeing 737-300 crashed into the Musi River, South
\nSumatra, on Dec. 19 on a flight from Jakarta to Singapore. All
\n104 passengers and crew on board were killed.<\/p>\n
The plane was flying at its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet
\n(10,600 meters) in clear weather. Ground control received no
\ndistress calls.<\/p>\n
This has led to speculation of a sudden, massive mechanical
\nfailure or perhaps a bomb, although no hard evidence of either
\nhas been revealed.<\/p>\n
Witnesses claim to have seen the plane explode in midair.<\/p>\n
SilkAir is a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines.<\/p>\n
Commander of the Western Fleet's security task force Commodore
\nRosihan Arsyad said yesterday that the plane likely exploded in
\npieces as two weeks of joint search operations between Singapore
\nand Indonesia have recovered only small fragments of the plane.<\/p>\n
\"Just imagine such a big plane crashing to earth at a velocity
\nof 900 kilometers per hour,\" Rosihan on the Indonesian navy ship
\nKRI Teluk Gilimanuk was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday.<\/p>\n
He said rescuers hoped to find more significant findings as
\nthe sonar equipment from KRI Fatahillah last week located a 25
\nmeter x 60 meter indent in the riverbed which investigators
\nsuspect could be the location of the plane's fuselage.<\/p>\n
\"But we became quite sad after the dredger found the fuselage
\nwas not there,\" Rosihan said.<\/p>\n
The Moshasi only found fragments of the plane's cockpit and
\ntail which had been crushed to pieces.<\/p>\n
The dredger can rake up to 18 cubic meters of mud from a depth
\nof 30 meters, Arsyad said, adding that Singapore sent 31
\npersonnel to man the dredger.<\/p>\n
Working together with the dredger is an Indonesian search and
\nrescue team which is expected to collect, clean up and record the
\nfindings of the dredger.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian team consists of 30 personnel from the Navy,
\nArmy, Air Force and Police, Arsyad said.<\/p>\n
According to Arsyad, the dredging by the Singaporean vessel is
\nexpected to take four days.<\/p>\n
One of the most sought after objects will be the cockpit voice
\nrecorder.<\/p>\n
Rescue teams last week recovered the flight data recorder
\n(FDR), but investigators warn that both items of the blackbox
\nmust be discovered if investigations can become conclusive.<\/p>\n
The FDR arrived in Washington Tuesday for examination by U.S.
\nsafety experts.<\/p>\n
U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) spokesman
\nJamie Finch was quoted by Reuters in Washington as saying that
\nthe recorder was being examined in the board's laboratory.<\/p>\n
Only about 10 percent of the plane has been recovered but the
\ndiscovery of the flight data recorder was regarded as a
\nbreakthrough.<\/p>\n
No bodies have been recovered intact. Earlier in the search
\ndivers found some body fragments which are being examined by
\nforensic experts to determine if identification can be made.<\/p>\n
In Palembang, Antara yesterday reported that the location for
\nthe mass burial had yet to be decided as authorities still need
\nto confirm the matter with relatives of the crash victims.<\/p>\n
Minister Haryanto said last week the remains would be buried
\nin Palembang or near the crash site at the nearby fishing village
\nof Sungsang, about 65 kilometers north of Palembang. (10)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/silkair-search-extended-for-three-days-1447893297",
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