The divers are concentrated on six spots of the location where the aircraft crashed into the waters between Laki Island and Lancang Island, Pulau Seribu District, six days ago, Operation Director of Basarnas Brigadier General Rasman stated during a press conference at the JICT 2 Pier, Tanjung Priok, here on Thursday.
The search operation prioritized all objects, including the victims' remains and limbs, cockpit voice recorder (CVR), and aircraft debris.
"Hence, we have divided (the divers) into several teams tasked with looking specifically for debris, victims, and CVR. This mechanism in the arrangement is expected to maximize search efforts," he remarked.
Search efforts are conducted both by air and sea, especially below sea level.
Related news: Navy suspends diving operation for retrieving Sriwijaya flight's CVR
Aerial search is also likely to be expanded by optimizing searches on beaches and around large islands.
"We also thereafter continue to conduct searches on the surface," he stated.
Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) revealed earlier that the research vessel Baruna Jaya had been deployed for the operation to retrieve the black boxes of the crashed Boeing 737-500 jet.
Around 4:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, the plane's flight data recorder was retrieved by Navy divers from the seabed. It was found lying some 23 meters below the water surface.
The FDR device of the aircraft, carrying 50 passengers and 12 crew members on board when it crashed into the ocean on January 9, 2021, was handed over to the KNKT.
The Boeing 737-500, with 62 people aboard, crashed last Saturday, just four minutes after taking off from the Soekarno International Airport, near Jakarta, on its way to Pontianak, West Kalimantan.
It was raining heavily when the plane plunged into the Java Sea near Jakarta. The aircraft’s departure had been delayed for about an hour owing to bad weather. Related news: SAR operations for crashed Sriwijaya Air flight 182 halted temporarily
Translator: Martha HS, Fardah
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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