Rescuers Discover All 54 Bodies Of Plane Crash Victims

Officers showed aerial photographs Trigana Air plane crash site in Basarnas Office, Jakarta, Tuesday (18/8). (ANTARA FOTO/Sigid Kurniawan/wdy/15)

Jakarta (Antara Bali)- Rescue workers have found 54 bodies of the victims of Trigana Air Flight No. 257, which crashed in Oksob, Pegunungan Bintang District, Papua, on Sunday.

"According to the latest information received until 12:30 a.m. local time, the number of bodies discovered has reached 54," Public Communication Chief Officer of the Ministry of Transportation J.A. Barata noted here on Tuesday.

Barata said it was reported at 11 a.m. local time that 38 bodies had been found, of which 37 were adults and one was a child.

"The bodies were still at the crash location. They have not yet been moved," he stated.

According to Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation, the ill-fated ATR aircraft, bearing Flight No. 257, lost contact on Sunday at 2:55 p.m. local time, during its flight from Jayapura to Oksibil.

The aircraft, with 49 passengers and five crew members, including Pilot Hasanudin and co-pilot Aryadi, was due to arrive in Oksibil at 3:15 p.m. Eastern Indonesian Time after a 55-minute flight but failed to make its scheduled landing.

The efforts to evacuate the 54 people onboard the Trigana Airways aircraft were hampered by the extreme weather on Monday, Chief of the Pegunungan Bintang district police Adjunct Senior Commissioner Yunus Wally added. (WDY)