Search for crash victims until Jan. 2

JAKARTA (JP): A Singapore-Indonesia rescue team has set Jan. 2, 1998 as the last day of their search for victims and wreckage from a Singapore SilkAir Boeing 737-300 which crashed in the estuary of the Musi river in southern Sumatra on Dec. 19.

Antara quoted Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto as saying in Palembang on Saturday that rescuers had only found wreckage of only 10 percent of the plane, along with human remains, pieces of clothing and other personal belongings.

Two dredgers will arrive at the crash site by Wednesday at the latest to help search for victims and the plane's submerged fuselage.

The aircraft's flight data recorder, which was recovered Saturday, was to be sent to the United States for decoding yesterday.

Haryanto said the device would be taken to the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington by Oetarjo Diran, chairman of Indonesia's Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission.

The recovered flight data recorder monitors critical instrument readings, including flight path, altitude, speed and direction.

The flight data recorder was the first major find for investigators, eight days after the 10-month-old jet crashed on a scheduled flight from Jakarta to Singapore.

All 104 passengers and crew on board are feared dead.

The recorder was reportedly intact and in good condition despite having been submerged for eight days, the Suara Pembaruan afternoon daily reported yesterday.

The search continues for a second vital device the cockpit voice recorder which records radio transmissions and all sounds in the cockpit, such as the pilots' voices and engine noises.

Divers have been unable to recover a single body intact, and investigators are planning a mass grave for the human remains which have been recovered.

Haryanto said the remains would be buried in Palembang or near the crash site 65 kilometers away in Sungsang, a small fishing village.

Thick layers of silt and the fast currents of the Musi river have hampered divers' efforts to salvage the aircraft wreckage.

Investigators have been unwilling to speculate on the cause of the tragedy, but several villagers near the crash site reported hearing explosions before the plane went down. (10)