"The evacuation effort was not difficult despite the captain`s body being stuck."Balikpapan, East Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - The bodies of Susi Air`s pilot Captain Jonathan Willis and Australian surveyor Russell Ian McDougall will soon be brought to Jakarta on Thursday.
Both victims were reportedly killed in a plane crash accident when the chartered Susi Air plane crashed near Mauritan village, Kutai Kartanegara district, on Wednesday (April 25).
According to the search and rescue (SAR) team leader Harmoniady, both of the victims` bodies were successfully removed from the wrecked plane.
"The evacuation effort was not difficult despite the captain`s body being stuck," he stated.
The rescue team first removed McDougall`s body, which was found on the left of the plane`s door, before extricating the captain`s body.
The bodies were then evacuated to Harapan Insan Sendawar Hospital in Barong Tongkok sub-district, West Kutai.
Earlier reports mentioned that the Susi Air plane had made an emergency landing in the cliffs of Maritan village, Tabang sub-district, Kukar.
"Before making the emergency landing, one of the victims managed to send a short message to his co-worker`s cellular that they were about to make an emergency landing," said Sepinggan Airport`s operational manager Kasiadi here on Thursday.
The cause of the plane`s emergency landing is still uncertain, since the aircraft was refuelled for seven hours of flying.
"I don`t have the authority to explain the cause of the plane crash accident; we can just wait for the National Transportation Safety Committee," he remarked.
The Susi Air crash is the second such incident to have occurred in East Kalimantan during 2012, following a Batavia Air plane incident in March.
(T.A050/INE/KR-BSR/B003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
