State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi said that when the accident occurred on Saturday (January 17), President Prabowo was leading a limited meeting and received reports that the aircraft had lost contact while approaching Hasanuddin Airport in Makassar.
“At that time, he instructed all relevant personnel to immediately carry out the search. Once the coordinates of the crash site are found, evacuation must be conducted as quickly as possible,” he said here on Monday.
Prasetyo added that all related agencies, including Basarnas, the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police led by regional commanders, and the South Sulawesi provincial government, moved swiftly to locate the crash site of the aircraft carrying 10 people.
He noted that the discovery of the crash location was also aided by reports from local residents who saw or heard an explosion after the aircraft was suspected to have gone down.
On behalf of President Prabowo Subianto, he expressed deep condolences over the tragic incident.
“We continue to monitor the process so that all efforts can be carried out as quickly as possible,” he said.
Meanwhile, a joint SAR team has recovered one female victim of the crash. Basarnas Head Mohammad Syafii said the victim was found at around 2 p.m. local time.
A male victim had been found the previous day, bringing the total number of recovered victims to two.
The ATR 42-500 aircraft, carrying seven crew members and three passengers, lost contact on Saturday afternoon.
The passengers were employees of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
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Translator: Mentari, Kenzu
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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