Jakarta (ANTARA) - The joint search and rescue (SAR) team has located the crash point of Sriwijaya Air SJ-182 in the waters of Seribu Islands, National Defense Forces (TNI) Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said.
All soldiers particularly naval personnel in the field have been ordered to assist the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) in collecting the debris of the plane, he said here on Sunday.
"They can collect small parts of plane wreckage, while a crane ship will salvage the large ones," he said.
The TNI chief expressed the hope the debris of the plane located 23 meters beneath the seawater surface could be salvaged soon.
The joint team is trying to find the black box flight recorder which is strongly believed to have been located based on the signal it sent out, he said
"Hopefully, the black box flight recorder could be salvaged soon so KNKT (the National Committee for Transportation Safety) will be able to establish the cause of the plane crash," he said.
The Ministry of Transportation has confirmed that airport authorities lost contact with Sriwijaya Air flight number SJY 182 serving the Jakarta-Pontianak route at approximately 2:40 p.m.on Saturday.
According to the ministry, the Boeing 737-500 jet, registration number PK CLC, had its last contact at a position 11 nautical miles north of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, in suburban Jakarta, after passing an altitude of 11,000 feet and while rising to 13,000 feet.
The plane took off from Soekarno-Hatta Airport at 2.40 p.m. local time on Saturday and was scheduled to land at Supadio Airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, at 3:50 p.m.
Based on the manifest, the plane carried 50 passengers and 12 crew members.
Related news: Rescuers find other human remains of Sriwijaya plane passengers
Related news: Air Force finds oil spills allegedly from the crashed Sriwijaya plane
Related news: Officials say 50 passengers, 12 crew aboard missing Sriwijaya plane
Related news: President Jokowi offers condolences over Sriwijaya plane crash
