The DHC6-400 Twin Otter aircraft, bearing registration number PK CDC, had gone missing since Sept 18, and the search operation launched thereon finally yielded results in the Hoeya mountainous area, Mimika, on Sept 22.
The evacuation process took several days owing to the challenging terrain and inhospitable weather conditions, Brigadier General Budi Purnomo, operation director of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), informed the press in Timika, Mimika, on Wednesday.
"Tomorrow, the second stage of the operation will commence to retrieve the black box containing the voice data recorder and flight data recorder. We continue to back up the second stage of the operation to retrieve the black box, and it will start tomorrow morning," he noted.
Related news: Thick fog blanket in Papua impairs efforts to find aircraft
Senior Commissioner John Sitanggang, commander of the Nemangkawi task force of the Police Headquarters' Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) Team, arrived for the victim identification process.
"After the identification process is completed, the remains will be handed over to their respective families for funeral. The identification process is underway," he revealed.
Sitanggang pointed out that the remains were most likely not intact since the aircraft had crashed into a hill.
The aircraft, carrying onboard nearly 1.6 tons of the State Logistics Agency's (Bulog's) rice, disappeared after taking off from the Moses Kilangain Airport in Timika, en route to Ilaga, the capital of Puncak District in Papua Province.
The missing aircraft was piloted by Dasep Ishak Sobirin, who was accompanied by co-pilot Yudra, engineer Ujang Suhendar, and passenger Bharada Hadi Utomo, during the flight. Related news: Airnav Indonesia pledges assistance to locate missing Twin Otter
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Evarianus Supar, Fardah
Editor: Azizah Fitriyanti
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