Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said six victims of the ATR 42-500 plane crash in the Mount Bulusaraung area, Pangkep District, South Sulawesi, are still being evacuated by a joint search and rescue (SAR) team that continues operations at the site.
Basarnas Head Mohammad Syafii said on Thursday that the evacuation is being conducted in stages, taking into account personnel safety, the steep terrain, and rapidly changing weather conditions.
“As of today, six victims are still in the process of being evacuated by the joint SAR team. The operation is being carried out with extreme caution,” Syafii said.
Speaking to reporters after a press briefing at the Makassar SAR Office command post, he explained that in addition to evacuating victims, the joint SAR team also recovered nine items from the search area.
“We need to clarify that the body parts found at the operation site consist of both aircraft components and victims’ remains. So far, a total of nine body parts have been recovered,” he said.
Syafii stressed that all items found at the scene were immediately secured in accordance with standard operating procedures before being handed over to the relevant authorities for further handling and identification.
He added that the safety of joint SAR personnel remains the top priority of the operation, requiring careful planning and cross-sector coordination at every stage of the evacuation process.
The ATR 42-500 aircraft was reported missing over Mount Bulusaraung while attempting to land at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar on January 17.
The joint SAR team has also recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) from the aircraft wreckage and has handed them over to the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) for further investigation.
