Currently, our personnel are already in the field and have found several parts of the plane, and the obstacle we face today is poor visibility because it is night time
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Poor visibility in the waters off Pulau Seribu islands hampered the search for missing Sriwijaya Air SJ182, carrying 62 people aboard, according to Basarnas (National Search and Rescue Agency) Deputy for Operations and Preparedness Bambang Suryo Aji.

The Boeing 737-500 plane flying the Jakarta-Pontianak (West Kalimantan) route allegedly crashed between Laki Island and Lancang Island, Pulau Seribu District, Jakarta, just minutes after taking off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Saturday afternoon.

"Currently, our personnel are already in the field and have found several parts of the plane, and the obstacle we face today is poor visibility because it is night time," he said during a virtual press conference held here on Saturday.

Nevertheless, Basarnas continues to make every effort to find the location where the plane allegedly crashed during heavy rains.

If the coordinates of the plane's location are found, on Sunday (10/1) morning Basarnas will continue the search operation optimally, he added.

Regarding the alleged sound of the explosion, Basarnas said it is still being investigated.

"The information is from fishermen," he added.

He said all

aircraft emergency location transmitters (ELT) had been registered at Basarnas. However, the missing Sriwijaya Air plane did not transmit a signal.

"This is what we need to cross check to determine why it doesn't transmit a signal," he said.

To find out the cause of the absence of the ELT signal, Basarnas has checked with the satellite system owned by Australia.

"Australia also does not get the signal. So Basarnas is still trying to find out why the ELT does not transmit a signal," he said.

Pulau Seribu fishermen found aircraft cables and debris, and several fishermen claimed they had seen an object falling into the waters and also heard an explosion during the heavy rain.

The ill-fated plane reportedly carried 50 passengers and 12 cabin crew on its flight from Soekarno-Hatta Airport to Pontianak, according to Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi.

"The total number of passengers is 50, consisting of 40 adults, seven children and three babies, plus 12 crew members," Budi Sumadi said, during a virtual press conference held here on Saturday night.

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Translator: M Zulfikar, Fardah
Editor: Gusti Nur Cahya Aryani
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