WORLD
Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency releases photos of crashed airplane
Jakarta, August 17, AZERTAC
National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) of Indonesia has released photos of area where airplane with 54 people on board crashed. The plane was carrying 49 passengers and five crew members on a scheduled 42-minute flight. Five children, including two infants, were among the passengers.
"Smoke was still billowing from the wreckage when it was spotted by a plane search," said Henry Bambang Soelistyo, the chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency. He underlined bad weather and rugged terrain were hampering efforts to reach the wreckage, located at an altitude of 2,600 meters. He said elite forces from the air force and army will build a helipad for evacuation purposes near the crash site. Much of Papua is covered with impenetrable jungles and mountains. Some planes that have crashed in the past have never been found.
Trigana Air Service, which began operations in 1991, had 22 aircraft as of December 2013 and flies to 21 destinations in Indonesia. The carrier has had 19 serious incidents since 1992, resulting in the loss of eight aircraft and major damage to 11 others, according to the Aviation Safety Network`s online database.
Vugar Aghayev
Special correspondent
Jakarta