Body Parts And Wreckage Found At Boeing 737-500 Crash Site

Body parts and wreckage have been discovered at the crash site of the downed Boeing 737-500 in Indonesia.

The Sriwijaya Air flight was travelling from Jakarta to Pontianak in when it fell 10,000ft just four minutes after departure yesterday (Saturday), with 62 people on board.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said divers have now found human body parts, pieces of clothing and scraps of metal between Lancang Island and Laki Island.

PA

Yusri Yunus, a spokesperson for Jakarta Police, told Metro TV: "As of this morning, we've received two bags, one with passenger belongings and the other with body parts."

Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto also said in a statement that broken pieces of fuselage and aircraft registration parts had been found.

He added: "We received reports from the diver team that the visibility in the water is good and clear, allowing the discovery of some parts of the plane.

"We are sure that is the point where the plane crashed."

PA

Speaking to the BBC, a fisherman called Solihin explained what happened as he witnessed the crash.

He said: "The plane fell like lightning into the sea and exploded in the water.

"It was pretty close to us, the shards of a kind of plywood almost hit my ship."

Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged people to pray for the passengers, which included seven children and three babies.

He said: "I represent the government and all Indonesians in expressing my deep condolences for this tragedy.

"We are doing our best to save the victims. We pray together so that the victims can be found."

Topics: indonesia, World News

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey