Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Air Force has dispatched three aircraft from Halim airbase to Suwondo airbase in a bid to transport the bodies of the victims of the C-130 aircraft crash in Medan, North Sumatra.

"The three deployed aircraft comprise a C-130 Hercules aircraft bearing the registration number A-1326 and two CN-295 aircraft with the registration numbers: A-2905 and A-2906," Chief Information Officer of Air Force Colonel Sus Sri Gustiningsih stated here on Wednesday.

The three aircraft are piloted by Major Pilot Marvien, Lt Col Pilot Lilik, and Major Pilot Alvian to transport the evacuation equipment and to carry the coffins.

"The aircraft will also transport the bodies of the victims of the crash to another airbase," Gustiningsih noted.

Gustiningsih remarked that the Air Force has prepared insurance and compensation for the soldiers and civil servants who died in the C-130 Hercules crash.

"The insurance amount ranges between Rp350 million and Rp500 million," Gustiningsih said.

In addition, she noted that the victims will receive compensation such as personnel death compensation, corpse treatment compensation, among others.

Earlier, the bodies of the 134 victims of the crash that took place on Tuesday have been moved to Adam Malik Hospital by a joint Search and Rescue (SAR) team.

"At 3 a.m. WIB (Western Indonesian Standard Time) today, all bodies have been retrieved," North Sumatra Governor Pujo Nugroho stated here on Wednesday.

On behalf of the people and the provincial administration of North Sumatra, the governor lauded the police and military personnel for providing assistance to the SAR team during the rescue efforts.

The remains of several victims were still intact, he noted.

The polices Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team is currently working to identify the remains.

Of the total 134 bodies, the DVI team has so far managed to identify 30 bodies, North Sumatra Police Chief Inspector General Eko Hadi Sutedjo revealed.

A Hercules C-130 transport aircraft of the Indonesian Air Force crashed in Jamin Ginting Road in Medan, the capital city of North Sumatra province, on Tuesday, at 12:10 p.m. local time.

The site of the crash is widely known as one of the busiest roads that connects Medan and Brastagi tourist resort.

The transport aircraft, bearing the registration number A-1310, crashed shortly after takeoff from Polonia Airbase during its flight from Medan to Natuna Island.

The ill-fated aircraft was carrying supplies from Halim Perdanakusuma Airbase in Jakarta to several other airbases in Pekanbaru, Medan, Tanjung Pinang, Ranai (Natuna Island), and Pontianak.

Spokesman for the North Sumatra Regional Police Command Senior Commissioner Helfi Assegaf stated that the aircraft crashed three minutes after takeoff. It was carrying officers on duty who were to be dropped at several bases.

He added that the police can yet neither confirm the cause of the incident nor the number of the victims, as the SAR team is still searching for survivors at the crash site.


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