Only four bodies were transported on Wednesday due to the bad weather, and the bodies of 50 others arrived the next day, spokesman of the Jayapura Air Force base Major Juni Kurniawati stated.
The relatives of the victims were expected to arrive in Jayapura onboard a Trigana twin otter aircraft, she added.
According to Indonesias Ministry of Transportation, the ill-fated ATR aircraft, bearing Flight No. 257, had lost contact on Sunday (Aug 16) at 2:55 p.m. local time, during its flight from Jayapura to Oksibil.
The aircraft, with 49 passengers and five crew members, including Pilot Hasanudin and co-pilot Aryadi, was due to arrive in Oksibil at 3:15 p.m. WIT after a 55-minute flight but had failed to make its scheduled landing.
The efforts to transport the bodies of the 54 victims onboard the Trigana Airways aircraft were hindered due to the extreme weather.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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