Jakarta (VNA) — Indonesian search and rescue authorities have confirmed the recovery of the bodies of all 10 victims from a surveillance aircraft that crashed in the Bulusaraung mountain area of the Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park in South Sulawesi, following nearly a week of intensive search efforts.
The ATR 42-500 aircraft, operated by Indonesia Air Transport (IAT), lost contact with air traffic control at around 1:30 pm on January 17 while flying over the border area between Maros and Pangkep regencies. The aircraft had been chartered by Indonesia’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries to conduct aerial surveillance of fishing grounds.
At the time of the crash, the plane was carrying 10 people, including seven crew members and three passengers who were officials from the ministry.
Andi Sultan, an official of the South Sulawesi’s rescue agency, said the final two bodies were found in the early hours of January 23. Recovery operations are continuing amid challenging conditions due to the rugged terrain.
Earlier, rescuers located aircraft debris scattered along the mountainside. Colonel Dody Triyo Hadi, Assistant Operations Officer of the Hasanuddin Military Command, said a special task force had recovered the flight data recorder, which was found intact near the tail section about 150 metres below the mountain peak and has been transported to the search and rescue base.
Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) has launched an investigation into the cause of the crash, while the Ministry of Transportation said the aircraft had undergone regular maintenance and inspections.
This marks the first fatal accident involving an ATR 42 aircraft in Indonesia in more than a decade. In 2015, an ATR 42-300 operated by Trigana Air Service crashed in Papua, killing all 54 people on board./.
Indonesia plane crash: six more bodies recovered
An Indonesian army officer involved in the joint search and rescue operation said the bodies were found at different locations within a roughly 50-metre radius of where the first victim had been discovered.
