Indonesian rescuers have discovered the bodies of passengers from an ATR 42-500 aircraft that crashed in South Sulawesi province during a reconnaissance flight. The tragedy occurred last weekend, but difficult mountainous terrain conditions and the search operation continued until Friday morning, January 23. This was reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
Details
The turboprop aircraft of the Indonesia Air Transport (IAT) group was carrying out an order from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries to monitor the waters. Communication with the board was lost on Saturday near the Maros region. Rescuers found the wreckage of the aircraft scattered on the slopes of Mount Bulusaraung, located approximately 1500 kilometers from Jakarta.
Victims of the plane crash and the evacuation process
There were seven crew members and three employees of the relevant ministry on board. Rescue agency representative Andi Sultan confirmed during an emotional video address that the ninth and tenth bodies were found early Friday morning.
Indonesian surveillance plane disappears with 11 people on board17.01.26, 22:26 • [views_3983]
The process of evacuating the remains of the deceased to the nearest medical center for identification is currently underway.
Investigation into the causes of the tragedy
Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) has already gained access to the aircraft's "black box." Experts are studying flight recorder data and technical flight parameters to determine the cause of the accident. This is the first fatal crash involving an ATR 42 aircraft model in Indonesia in the last ten years – the previous large-scale tragedy with this type of aircraft occurred in 2015 in the Papua region.