Authorities say they have recovered the body of one of the victims of Lion Air flight JT-610 at the crash site in the waters off of Karawang, West Java. The victim was found by National Police officers aiding in the search and rescue effort.
“Based on the data and information we have received, only one victim has been found so far,” Adi Wahadi, a member of the Karawang Water Police, told Kompas.
Adi said the corpse was immediately placed inside a body bag and that it would be examined to ascertain its identity as soon as possible.
Police deployed four of their ships and 32 officers to help the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) in their efforts to recover JT-610 and its passengers.
Saat ini tim SAR Basarnas melakukan penyelaman dikoordinat 05 derajat 90' 361" S – 107 derajat 06' 618" E untuk mencari pesawat Lion Air JT 610 yang jatuh di perairan Karawang Jawa Barat. pic.twitter.com/XK0UiSKyfH
— Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_PN) October 29, 2018
As reported by Okezone, the Indonesian Red Cross sent at least 40 body bags to the crash site, as well as two ambulances and 15 volunteers.
The recovery of one of the victim’s bodies is the latest grim finding after Basarnas reported finding plane debris, life jackets, mobile phones, and several body parts in the waters at the crash site.
Beberapa serpihan pesawat Lion Air JT 610 yang jatuh di perairan Karawang. Pesawat membawa 178 penumpang dewasa, 1 penumpang anak-anak dan 2 bayi dengan 2 Pilot dan 5 FA. Basarnas dan Kementerian Perhubungan terus melakukan penanganan. Beberapa kapal tug boad berada di lokasi. pic.twitter.com/Gb6P4zjCQF
— Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_PN) October 29, 2018
As confirmed by Indonesia’s Aviation Agency, the aircraft was carrying 188 people, consisting of 178 adult passengers, one child and two infants, as well as two pilots and five air crew members.
There are reports indicating that numerous government officials were onboard JT-610, including 20 employees of the Finance Ministry, five members of the Bangka Belitung Regional Council (DPRD), three Bangka Belitung police officers, and three judges.
New plane
According to The National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT), the plane, a Boeing 737-MAX 8, is relatively new in that it has only been in operation for Lion Air for two months.
“The plane became part of Lion Air’s fleet in August 2018 and it has clocked up 800 flying hours, so it’s relatively new,” KNKT Head Soerjanto told the press this morning, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
KNKT says further investigation is needed to determine the cause of the crash. Lion Air says the plane was cleared to fly.
The flight’s captain, identified as Indian national Bhavye Suneja, is reported to have clocked up 6,000 flying hours while his co-pilot, Indonesian national Harvino, has 5,000 flying hours under his belt.
JT-610, which departed from Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport at 6:20am and was scheduled to arrive in Bangka Belitung capital Pangkal Pinang at 7:20am, disappeared from the radar around 13 minutes after take-off.
The Aviation Agency also says the flight’s pilot requested to return to Soekarno-Hatta shortly after take off before communications were lost with the plane. Basarnas then found evidence that the plane crashed in the waters of Karawang Bay off the coast of West Java soon after.
