"Within the perimeter of today`s search area, we have witnesses and sonar data that detect the presence of an object believed to be the target of the search operation," the agency`s Director for Training and Preparedness Didi Hamzar stated.
Hamzar remarked that based on information obtained from witnesses and object detected by the sonar system, the agency will deploy a team of 100 divers at the site.
"We will make a confirmation on the detected object. We do not want to make a presumption," he added.
According to Hamzar, Indonesian Military Chief Air Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto and Basarnas Chief M. Syaugie visited the area aboard KRI Ngurah Rai to confirm the information.
Lion Air`s B737-8 Max JT 610 flight crashed into the sea off Tanjung Karawang, West Java, 13 minutes after taking off from Cengkareng`s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 6:20 a.m. local time en route to Pangkalpinang in Bangka Belitung Province on Monday.
The ill-fated aircraft, with 188 people on board, departed from Jakarta at 6:20 a.m. local time and was scheduled to arrive in Pangkalpinang at 7:05 a.m. local time, according to the Depati Amir Airport authority in Pangkalpinang.
Before it lost contact, the aircraft had sought permission to return to Jakarta due to a problem.
The aircraft carried 178 adult passengers, three infants, six cabin crews, and two pilots.
Reporting by Dewanto Samodro
Editing by Yoseph Hariyadi
Reporter: Dewanto Samodro
Editor: Bustanuddin
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