Indonesian plane crash killed all passengers on board

Search and rescue teams sent to investigate an Indonesia-bound AirAsia flight that went missing two days ago confirmed it crashed at a densely forested, mountainous region in Papua province, resulting in the death of all 54 people on board. The rescuers discovered the bodies of all 49 passengers of the Trigana Air Service plane, including five children and also the five crew members.

“There are no survivors. All fifty-four bodies have been found,” Transportation Ministry spokesman J.A. Barata told AFP. The rescuers reported that the plane has been destroyed completely. Thick fog and rain kept more than 250 rescuers and 11 rescue aircrafts from reaching the site where the plane has crashed sooner on Monday.

“The plane has crashed, it is completely destroyed,” search and rescue chief Bambang Soelistyo told AFP. “Everything was in pieces and part of the plane is burnt. We could see burn marks on some pieces.”

The bodies discovered at the site would be sent to Jayapura, the capital of Papua province for identification, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Soelistyo also said that the debris from the crash were discovered at an altitude of 2,600 metres. The dense vegetation covering most of the mountainous province of Papua stood witness to aeroplane crashes in the region earlier also but the wreckage could not be found.

A crisis centre official for the airlines at Jayapura’s Sentani airport said that all the passengers were Indonesian with three local government officials and two members of local parliament. Social assistance fund of AU$638,000 in cash was being transported by the aeroplane for distribution among the poor families. There is no news on the fate of the money until now.

The rescuers have also been on a look out for the plane’s flight data recorder, which will help in the investigation by shedding some light on the cause of the crash. The plane lost contact with air traffic control 10 minutes before reaching its destination. The crew had sought permission to descend through the heavy clouds and rain to land. Unfavourable weather conditions is being held responsible for the crash.

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