Jakarta, May 21, 2012 (ANTARA) - Thirteen days after the Sukhoi Superjet 100
(SSJ-100) crashed into Mount Salak`s cliff, the salvage operations of
the plane`s wreckage and victims were finally concluded on Monday (May
21), with not a single survivor found.
The SJJ-100 took off from Halim Perdanakusuma air force base in East Jakarta at 2.21 p.m. on May 9, 2012, for a short demonstration flight above Jakarta and Bogor (West Java). However, around 12 minutes later, at 2.33 p.m., the Russian-made plane disappeared from the radar.
The aircraft reportedly dropped off the radar shortly after the crew asked the air traffic controllers for permission to descend from an altitude of 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet (3,000 metres to 1,800 metres). However, the mountainous terrain around Bogor and Sukabumi reaches up to 7,000 feet at its highest point.
It was not immediately known whether all the 45 people on board -35 Indonesians, eight Russians, one American, and one Frenchman - were killed in the crash in the mountainous area of Bogor.
The Indonesian government formed a Search and Rescue (SAR) team, led by Head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) Vice Marshal Daryatmo, on the day of the accident. The team was later joined by Russia`s SAR team that came from Moscow for the salvage operations.
On Thursday at 8.30 a.m. local time, the SAR team aboard one of the rescue helicopters spotted parts of the wreckage of the ill-fated plane on the edge of a cliff about 5,500 feet (1,650 metres) high on Mount Salak.
The evacuation process was often halted due to bad weather, as the mountain, which is geographically very difficult to access because of its steep and hilly terrain, would get covered by thick fog. The slope where the plane crash was spotted has an inclination of nearly 85 degrees.
Most of the SSJ-100`s wreckage and the victims` body parts were finally found in a deep ravine covered by the thick forests of Mount Salak.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono paid special attention to the accident and talked to the victims` family members at Halim for two consecutive days (May 10 and 11).
Yudhoyono and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, also discussed the accident over the telephone on Thursday (May 10) at 10.30 p.m. Jakarta time, and both expressed their deep condolences and sympathy to the victims` families.
After several days of search, the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was found on May 15 by members of a joint team from the army`s Kopassus special force and the Indonesia Rock Climbing Federation.
The CVR was later flown by helicopter to Halim, after being officially handed over by Vice Marshal Daryatmo to Head of the National Committee of Transportation Safety (KNKT) Tatang Kurniadi at Pasir Pogor Square in Bogor.
KNKT has started analysing the CVR, and is working in coordination with the Russian government to download the material therein in order to find out the cause of the air crash.
Meanwhile, Basarnas had collected the victims' body parts in 30 body bags and their belongings in five during the operations.
On Monday (May 21), the search and evacuation operations, conducted over the past 12 days, were terminated although the flight data recorder (FDR), which is an important part of the plane`s black box, was not found, Basarnas Chief Daryatmo said in Bogor.
"There are no more important findings, and we had earlier extended the operations for an additional three days in order to search within a wider radius," he explained, adding the terrain of the ravine was extremely rough. The Russian team has also withdrawn its personnel from Mount Salak.
The joint SAR team of Indonesia and Russia went to the crash site on Monday at 7 a.m. local time and stopped their activities at 10 a.m.
They found a parachute, several documents, and a number of identity cards of the ill-fated Sukhoi plane`s victims at the crash site. The team also discovered two wallets belonging to the Russian victims.
The search and evacuation processes were extremely difficult because the victims` remains and the plane`s wreckage were found in shredded condition, scattered across the deep ravine.
And the identification processes of the victims` remains were also far from being easy because their bodies were not found in good condition.
On Saturday (May 19), Prof Andrey Kovalev, the Russian Forensic Team leader, estimated the identification of the victims would be fully completed by mid-July, at the earliest.
"All forms of the smallest pieces from the victims` remains will be identified," Kovalev said.
To assist in the identification process, the Russian government on Saturday sent 17 chemicals used in such investigations.
"We provided the chemical reagents at the request of the Indonesian Police for the identification process," Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Alexander Ivanov said at Halim Perdanakusuma air force base in East Jakarta on Saturday.
The chemical reagents include AmpFISTR Human Identifier Plus, Human DNA Quantification Kit, Minifier Kit, POP 4, and Gene Scan 500 LIZ. The Russian government paid for the cost of the reagents, worth US$700,000, according to officials.
Indonesia`s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) Team, however, on Sunday evening (May 20) made a surprise announcement, informing that the team had concluded the identification process of all remains of the victims six days earlier than estimated.
"Today at 3 p.m. local time, all 45 victims - comprising 35 Indonesians and 10 foreigners, or 31 men and 14 women - have been identified scientifically and irrefutably based on their DNA, dental records, medical records, and properties," Head of the National DVI Committee Brigadier General Musaddeq said in a press conference.
The DVI team begins the reconstruction of remains of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 crash victims at Said Sukanto Police Hospital on Monday (May 21).
"Now, it`s the grouping and reconstruction process," Indonesian DVI Director Senor Commissioner Anton Castilani said.
When the reconstruction of the victims` bodies finishes, the next step will be the handing over of the victims` remains and death notifications to their families.
However, before the official handover, only the victims` close family members will be allowed to see the remains if they wish. They will also be asked to sign several documents relating to the victims` deaths on Tuesday (May 22).
The victims` remains will be placed at Halim Perdanakusuma air force base on Tuesday evening, Castilani stated.
"Tomorrow evening, one by one, the coffins will be taken to Halim Perdanakusuma. There will be a handing over from DVI to Basarnas [National Search and Rescue Agency], a ministry representing the government, and the victims` families," he said at Said Sukanto Police Hospital in East Jakarta on Monday.
Head of the Sukanto Police Hospital Brigadier General Agus Prayitno confirmed the victims` remains would be handed over to their families on Wednesday (May 23) at Halim Perdanakusumah.
DVI`s psychological team will be present at Halim Perdanakusuma on Tuesday evening and Wednesday to offer consultation to the victims' families and possibly advice them not to see the remains if they are not mentally ready.
With the remains being identified, the victims` families can now conduct proper funerals for their loved ones. The cause of the air crash, however, is still a mystery. ***3***
(F001/a/INE/a014)
(T.F001/A/KR-BSR/A/A014) 21-05-2012 19:48:35
The SJJ-100 took off from Halim Perdanakusuma air force base in East Jakarta at 2.21 p.m. on May 9, 2012, for a short demonstration flight above Jakarta and Bogor (West Java). However, around 12 minutes later, at 2.33 p.m., the Russian-made plane disappeared from the radar.
The aircraft reportedly dropped off the radar shortly after the crew asked the air traffic controllers for permission to descend from an altitude of 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet (3,000 metres to 1,800 metres). However, the mountainous terrain around Bogor and Sukabumi reaches up to 7,000 feet at its highest point.
It was not immediately known whether all the 45 people on board -35 Indonesians, eight Russians, one American, and one Frenchman - were killed in the crash in the mountainous area of Bogor.
The Indonesian government formed a Search and Rescue (SAR) team, led by Head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) Vice Marshal Daryatmo, on the day of the accident. The team was later joined by Russia`s SAR team that came from Moscow for the salvage operations.
On Thursday at 8.30 a.m. local time, the SAR team aboard one of the rescue helicopters spotted parts of the wreckage of the ill-fated plane on the edge of a cliff about 5,500 feet (1,650 metres) high on Mount Salak.
The evacuation process was often halted due to bad weather, as the mountain, which is geographically very difficult to access because of its steep and hilly terrain, would get covered by thick fog. The slope where the plane crash was spotted has an inclination of nearly 85 degrees.
Most of the SSJ-100`s wreckage and the victims` body parts were finally found in a deep ravine covered by the thick forests of Mount Salak.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono paid special attention to the accident and talked to the victims` family members at Halim for two consecutive days (May 10 and 11).
Yudhoyono and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, also discussed the accident over the telephone on Thursday (May 10) at 10.30 p.m. Jakarta time, and both expressed their deep condolences and sympathy to the victims` families.
After several days of search, the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was found on May 15 by members of a joint team from the army`s Kopassus special force and the Indonesia Rock Climbing Federation.
The CVR was later flown by helicopter to Halim, after being officially handed over by Vice Marshal Daryatmo to Head of the National Committee of Transportation Safety (KNKT) Tatang Kurniadi at Pasir Pogor Square in Bogor.
KNKT has started analysing the CVR, and is working in coordination with the Russian government to download the material therein in order to find out the cause of the air crash.
Meanwhile, Basarnas had collected the victims' body parts in 30 body bags and their belongings in five during the operations.
On Monday (May 21), the search and evacuation operations, conducted over the past 12 days, were terminated although the flight data recorder (FDR), which is an important part of the plane`s black box, was not found, Basarnas Chief Daryatmo said in Bogor.
"There are no more important findings, and we had earlier extended the operations for an additional three days in order to search within a wider radius," he explained, adding the terrain of the ravine was extremely rough. The Russian team has also withdrawn its personnel from Mount Salak.
The joint SAR team of Indonesia and Russia went to the crash site on Monday at 7 a.m. local time and stopped their activities at 10 a.m.
They found a parachute, several documents, and a number of identity cards of the ill-fated Sukhoi plane`s victims at the crash site. The team also discovered two wallets belonging to the Russian victims.
The search and evacuation processes were extremely difficult because the victims` remains and the plane`s wreckage were found in shredded condition, scattered across the deep ravine.
And the identification processes of the victims` remains were also far from being easy because their bodies were not found in good condition.
On Saturday (May 19), Prof Andrey Kovalev, the Russian Forensic Team leader, estimated the identification of the victims would be fully completed by mid-July, at the earliest.
"All forms of the smallest pieces from the victims` remains will be identified," Kovalev said.
To assist in the identification process, the Russian government on Saturday sent 17 chemicals used in such investigations.
"We provided the chemical reagents at the request of the Indonesian Police for the identification process," Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Alexander Ivanov said at Halim Perdanakusuma air force base in East Jakarta on Saturday.
The chemical reagents include AmpFISTR Human Identifier Plus, Human DNA Quantification Kit, Minifier Kit, POP 4, and Gene Scan 500 LIZ. The Russian government paid for the cost of the reagents, worth US$700,000, according to officials.
Indonesia`s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) Team, however, on Sunday evening (May 20) made a surprise announcement, informing that the team had concluded the identification process of all remains of the victims six days earlier than estimated.
"Today at 3 p.m. local time, all 45 victims - comprising 35 Indonesians and 10 foreigners, or 31 men and 14 women - have been identified scientifically and irrefutably based on their DNA, dental records, medical records, and properties," Head of the National DVI Committee Brigadier General Musaddeq said in a press conference.
The DVI team begins the reconstruction of remains of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 crash victims at Said Sukanto Police Hospital on Monday (May 21).
"Now, it`s the grouping and reconstruction process," Indonesian DVI Director Senor Commissioner Anton Castilani said.
When the reconstruction of the victims` bodies finishes, the next step will be the handing over of the victims` remains and death notifications to their families.
However, before the official handover, only the victims` close family members will be allowed to see the remains if they wish. They will also be asked to sign several documents relating to the victims` deaths on Tuesday (May 22).
The victims` remains will be placed at Halim Perdanakusuma air force base on Tuesday evening, Castilani stated.
"Tomorrow evening, one by one, the coffins will be taken to Halim Perdanakusuma. There will be a handing over from DVI to Basarnas [National Search and Rescue Agency], a ministry representing the government, and the victims` families," he said at Said Sukanto Police Hospital in East Jakarta on Monday.
Head of the Sukanto Police Hospital Brigadier General Agus Prayitno confirmed the victims` remains would be handed over to their families on Wednesday (May 23) at Halim Perdanakusumah.
DVI`s psychological team will be present at Halim Perdanakusuma on Tuesday evening and Wednesday to offer consultation to the victims' families and possibly advice them not to see the remains if they are not mentally ready.
With the remains being identified, the victims` families can now conduct proper funerals for their loved ones. The cause of the air crash, however, is still a mystery. ***3***
(F001/a/INE/a014)
(T.F001/A/KR-BSR/A/A014) 21-05-2012 19:48:35
No comments:
Post a Comment