Indonesian officials have identified the suspected crash site of missing Flight SJ182 of Sriwijaya Air in the waters of the Java Sea.
On Jan. 10 (Singapore time), the Straits Times reported that according to an AP reporter on the scene, divers marked three areas at the suspected crash site with orange balloons.
Indonesian Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, the head of the Indonesian Armed Forces, said that teams on a navy ship, equipped with a remote-operated vehicle, had detected a signal from the aircraft.
The signal matched the coordinates from the last contact made by the pilots before the plane disappeared, according to The Guardian.
Elite naval divers have been deployed to "determine the finding" and assist in the evacuation of victims, according to Tjahjanto.
10 warships took part in the search and rescue effort, along with personnel from the National Search and Rescue Agency and the police, numbering in the hundreds.
Body parts and other debris from plane recovered
Body parts, pieces of clothing and metal scraps were also pulled from the Java Sea.
According to a spokesperson from the National Search and Rescue Agency, the debris was found by the search and rescue team between the islands of Lancang and Laki.
Jakarta police spokesperson Yusri Yunus told Metro TV that some of the debris belonged to passengers:
"As of this morning, we’ve received two (body) bags, one with passenger belongings and the other with body parts."
The search and rescue efforts are ongoing.
Related stories:
Top image
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.