Ten foreigners killed in Indonesia plane crash

JAKARTA - A senior official at the Indonesian Disaster Victim Identification Agency (DVI) said Friday that ten foreigners were among the victims of crashed Sukhoi Superjet 100 plane in Indonesia's West Java province. "Those ten foreigners were eight from Russia, one from the United States and another one from France," DVI Executive Director Anton Castilani said here. He said that five people among the 50 listed in the initial passengers manifest had reported to DVI about their safety. They cancelled to board the plane in last minutes before the plane took off from Halim Perdanakusumah airport for a demonstration flight. "It means that there were 45 people onboard the plane. Identification of 35 Indonesian nationals had been reported by their families to DVI. Families of the French and the U.S. nationals onboard the plane have also reported identification of their relatives," Anton said. He added that the data recorded by the agency fit to the manifest data recorded from the ill-fated Sukhoi plane. Debris of the crashed plane were mostly found scattered in Cipelang hamlet, Cijeruk subdictrict in Bogor regency in West Java province. The plane hit the wall of Mount Salak located in Bogor regency on Wednesday afternoon after its pilot contacted the Air Traffic Control (ATC) officials in Halim Perdanakusumah airport, asking permission to descent to 6,000 feet from a height of 10,000 feet. The Indonesian rescuer team and the army engage helicopters to evacuate the remains of the killed passengers from the crash site in several sorties. Indonesian and Russian teams have prepared a joint team to identify the remains of those perished in the plane crash. The fatal crash was the first in the world to involve Russia's iconic Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger plane. Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has issued an instruction to undertake a thorough investigation into the crash. Friday 11 May 2012 http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2012-05/11/content_15270960.htm

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12 bodies found near Indonesia jet crash site

Search teams found at least 12 bodies Friday near where a Russian-made jetliner crashed into the side of an Indonesian volcano while on a demonstration flight for potential buyers from airlines, an official said. All 45 aboard the Sukhoi Superjet-100 are feared dead. "Today we have discovered 12 victims, all dead," Rear Marshal Daryatmo, head of the national search and rescue agency, told reporters today. The search team used ropes to climb up to the wreckage on the near-vertical slopes of Mount Salak, search and rescue agency spokesman Gagah Prakoso said. The 10 bodies they found are being prepared to be transported from the crash site by helicopter. Local television showed what appeared to be the plane's tail with the blue-and-white Sukhoi logo, part of a wing and bits of twisted metal scattered along the slope like confetti. The jetliner slammed into the dormant volcano Wednesday at nearly 800 kph (480 mph). Russian and French investigators have arrived to join the ongoing investigation into the cause. The Superjet-100 is Russia's first new model of passenger jet since the fall of the Soviet Union two decades ago and was intended to help resurrect its aerospace industry. The ill-fated Superjet was carrying representatives from local airlines and journalists on what was supposed to be a 50-minute demonstration flight. Just 21 minutes after takeoff from a Jakarta airfield, the Russian pilot and co-pilot asked for permission to drop from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet (3,000 meters to 1,800 meters). They gave no explanation, disappearing from the radar immediately afterward. It was not clear why the crew asked to shift course, especially since they were so close to the 7,000-foot (2,200-meter) volcano, or whether they got an OK, officials have said. Communication tapes will be reviewed as part of the investigation, but it's unlikely they will be released to the public any time soon. Friday 11 May 2012 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/12-bodies-found-near-indonesia-jet-crash-site-7736656.html

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