Indonesia expands search area for crashed plane

JAKARTA: Indonesia's search and rescue (SAR) team on Monday expanded the operation area to locate the debris and victims of the Sriwijaya Air plane, which crashed in the Java Sea over the weekend, according to authorities.

"While yesterday we focused on a narrower area, today we decided to expand the range of search operations," Xinhua news agency quoted Brig. Gen. Rasman M.S., the Operation Director of the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency, as saying. The SAR team deployed 53 ships on Monday, while the number was about 30 on Sunday.

It has also sent 18 units of jet ski and sea riders to explore the waters, as well as 10 helicopters and three fixed-wing glider planes for air exploration.

Monday's search was carried out in six sectors, involving about 2,600 personnel from the police, the army, the SAR team, and others. So far, officers have found the wreckage of the plane and body parts, and have estimated the location of the black boxes.

The Boeing 737-500 aircraft, flying from the capital Jakarta to Pontianak city in West Kalimantan province on Saturday afternoon, crashed into the Java Sea off the Seribu District in north of Jakarta. It was carrying 50 passengers, including 10 children and 12 crew members.

Also on Monday, head of the National Transportation Safety Committee Soerjanto Tjahjono said that the plane possibly broke when hitting waters. "The plane was possibly ruptured when it hit the waters. This indicates that the plane remained intact in the air and it did not explode," Tjahjono told Xinhua. (IANS)

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