Indonesia rescue teams scour sea for crashed plane amid poor weather

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian ships with rescue divers and equipment to detect signals from a flight recorder resumed the search on Sunday for a Sriwijaya Air jet believed to have crashed into the sea minutes after takeoff from the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

The Boeing 737-500 with 62 people on board was en route to Pontianak in West Kalimantan before it disappeared on Saturday from radar screens four minutes after takeoff.

Search teams and fishermen have retrieved some debris and a section of an emergency chute believed to come from the jet in the seas off Jakarta but have yet to find the fuselage or confirm the fate of the passengers and crew.

“We have prepared all the equipment and are ready at the spot where the debris was found yesterday,” Muhammad Yassin, director of marine police (POLAIR) told the TVOne channel from navy vessel KRI Gilimanuk.

POLAIR will focus its search on the outer ring of the Laki and Lancang islands off the Jakarta coast, he said. The sea in this area is about 20 to 23 metres (65-75 feet) deep.

A diver involved in the search and rescue operation interviewed by Kompas TV said his team had an underwater metal detector and a pinger locator to deploy in an effort to pick up signals for the plane’s black box.