TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) had collected 67 body bags of the victims of Lion Air JT 610 that plunged into waters of Tanjung Karawang, West Java, up to the fifth day of the searching for victims. The body bags had been sent to Soekanto National Police Hospital, East Jakarta.
“We have collected a total of 67 body bags containing victims of the crash Lion Air JT 610 until the fifth day of the searching,” said Basarnas head M Syaugi in a written statement, Friday, Nov 2.
Syaugi said all the cadaver pouches were labeled and evacuated to the hospital for identification. According to him, the number was subject to increase considering the searching effort was still underway, particularly at around the crash point.
Basarnas suspected there would be many victims trapped inside the wreckage of the budget airplane. As reported earlier, the diver teams had found the location of the crash of Boeing 737 Max 8 in 40-100 meters away from the black box discovery point which was 500 meters southwest from the Last Known Position of the aircraft.
According to the commander of the Navy SAR Task Force Col. Isswarto, many victims were found in the point. “Yes, there are many victims found at the point of the plane crash,” he told Tempo on late Thursday, Nov 1.
Isswarto explained the Lion Air JT 610 fuselage was also destroyed and broken into debris. “What we find in a full condition are the aircraft wheels and seats,” he added.
TAUFIQ SIDDIQ
