ALL BODIES FROM ILL-FATED IAT ATR 42-500 AIRCRAFT RECOVERED

JAKARTA, Jan 23 (Bernama) -- All bodies from the ill-fated Indonesia Air Transport (IAT) ATR 42-500 were recovered on Friday, following nearly a week of joint search and rescue (SAR) operations at the crash site on the slopes of Bulusaraung Hill in South Sulawesi.

Head of Operations at the Makassar Basarnas Office, Andi Sultan, confirmed at a press conference that the final body was found at 9.16 am local time, bringing the total bodies recovered to 10.

The aircraft, registered as PK-THT, was carrying seven crew members and three passengers when it lost contact with air traffic control around noon on Jan 17 while en route from Yogyakarta to Makassar over Maros District. A  search and rescue (SAR) operation was launched immediately.

The Indonesian Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) confirmed that the missing aircraft was one of its patrol planes.

On Thursday, media reports said the head of the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), Soerjanto Tjahjono, had received the suspected black box recovered by the joint SAR team from the crash site.

He said the committee would require about one to two weeks to conduct its investigation once the black box is transported to its lab.

So far, two bodies have been identified: Florencia Lolita, a cabin crew member, and Deden Maulana, an official in the KKP’s regional assets management division.

-- BERNAMA