Lion Air: Indonesian rescue diver dies while searching for victims of jet crash near Jakarta

Updated

An Indonesian rescue diver has died in the search for a passenger jet that crashed early this week near Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board, search and rescue agency Basarnas said on Saturday.

Key points: Anto died around 4pm on Friday afternoon, but it was not immediately clear how he perished

His family chose not to conduct an autopsy and asked for his remains to be buried immediately

Anto had been involved in other missions including the search for an AirAsia jet that crashed off Borneo in 2014

News of the diver's death came as Indonesia's search and rescue chief said divers had reported seeing the fuselage and engines of the crashed Lion Air jet on the seafloor.

"Syachrul Anto, 48, died on Friday while diving to search for victims of the crashed Lion [Air] aircraft," the agency said via its Instagram account, @sar_nasional.

"Deepest condolences for the passing of a humanitarian hero from the Indonesian Diving Rescue Team," Basarnas chief Syaugi said in a news release.

Mr Anto died at around 4:00pm on Friday, it said, but it was not immediately clear how he perished.

Mr Anto's family chose not to conduct an autopsy and asked for his remains to be buried immediately, Basarnas spokesman Yusuf Latif told Reuters by text message.

Among other missions, Mr Anto was also one of the main divers involved in the search for an AirAsia jet that crashed off Borneo in late 2014, he said.

Rescue divers have played critical roles in recovering human remains for identification and finding out what happened to the near-new Boeing 737 MAX that crashed early on Monday into the Java Sea, 13 minutes after it took off from Jakarta.

As of Saturday a total of 73 body bags, few containing intact remains, had been recovered from the site.

More debris found by divers

Divers have been searching for a second black box from the jet, as investigators try to get data from a partly-damaged recorder recovered from sunken wreckage on Thursday.

Indonesia's search and rescue chief Muhammad Syaugi said that along with the fuselage, two engines and more landing gear had been found by divers.

"I haven't seen it myself but I got information from some divers that they have seen the fuselage," he said.

The flight data recorder was recovered on Thursday and Mr Syuagi said a "low ping signal" was detected by a sonar locator that could be the missing black box voice recorder.

The pilot of flight JT610 had asked for, and received, permission to turn back to Jakarta, but what went wrong remains a mystery.

"The team have been hearing the 'ping' sound from another black box for two days," Soerjanto Tjahjono told Reuters.

The sea is only 30 metres deep at the crash site, but strong currents and nearby pipelines have hampered the search.

While victims' relatives are desperate to know what happened, the investigation of the first crash of a Boeing 737 MAX is also the focus of scrutiny by the global aviation industry.

Results of a preliminary investigation will be made public after 30 days, one official on the investigation team said.

Indonesia is one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets but its safety record has been patchy.

Its transport safety panel investigated 137 serious aviation incidents from 2012 to 2017.



Reuters

Topics: disasters-and-accidents, accidents, air-and-space, indonesia

First posted</s>Seats, wheels and other parts of a crashed Indonesian Lion Air jet were hauled from the depths Friday, as authorities analysed black box data that may explain why the new plane plummeted into the Java Sea, killing 189 people.

Search teams have been scouring the seabed for the fuselage of the Boeing-737 MAX 8, which plunged into the waters off Indonesia’s northern coast shortly after takeoff Monday despite only having been in service a few months.

“There is a lot of little debris, plane wheels, and seats — all totally destroyed and in pieces,” said Isswarto, commander of the Indonesian navy’s search-and-rescue division.

Divers were searching an area about 25-35 metres deep, but have been finding fewer body parts than earlier in the week, he added.

“They’re scattered everywhere and some may have been washed away by the current.”

Dozens of body bags containing remains have been recovered from the crash site.

Television images showed divers tying ropes to twisted plane parts scattered along the seafloor, as a pair of wheels from the jet were hauled aboard a navy ship.

Search teams have also determined the location of part of the plane’s engine, authorities said.

On Thursday, one of the plane’s black boxes was recovered, along with parts of its landing gear.

The black box could offer investigators their best chance of discovering why such a new jet crashed. The devices help explain nearly 90 percent of all crashes, according to aviation experts.

The devices record information about the speed, altitude and direction of the plane as well as flight crew conversations.

The single-aisle Boeing plane, en route from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang city, is one of the world’s newest and most advanced commercial passenger jets.

Boeing and US National Transportation Safety Board officials have joined the Indonesian team in sifting through twisted metal plane parts and piles of passengers’ torn clothing, shoes, wallets and phones.

Indonesian president Joko Widodo returned Friday to the port where piles of recovered items are being sorted, while the search and rescue agency said the recovery effort would continue at least through Sunday.

“After that, we’ll evaluate the situation,” agency head Muhammad Syaugi told reporters in Jakarta.

Passengers’ remains are being sent to hospital for DNA identification, with the first funeral for one of the passengers held on Thursday.

Many other victims have yet to be found although there are hopes more can be recovered from the bulk of the wreckage, including those who may still be strapped to their seats.

Lion Air’s admission that the jet had a technical issue on a previous flight — as well its abrupt fatal dive — have raised questions about whether it had mechanical faults such as a speed-and-altitude system malfunction.

Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee said it was interviewing people who flew on the plane the day before the fatal crash.

Some passengers who said they were on that Bali-Jakarta flight have reported a frightening, erratic trip, an assertion that appears to be backed up by flight tracking data.

The accident has also resurrected concerns about Indonesia’s poor air safety record which until recently saw its carriers facing years-long bans from entering European Union and US airspace.

Indonesia has had nearly 40 fatal aviation accidents in the past 15 years, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

Lion Air, Indonesia’s biggest budget carrier, has been involved in a number of incidents including a fatal 2004 crash.

In 2014, an AirAsia crash in the Java Sea during stormy weather killed 162 people.

The worst disaster in Indonesia’s aviation history left 234 dead in 1997 when an Airbus A-300B4 operated by national carrier Garuda Indonesia crashed in a smog-shrouded ravine in North Sumatra, just short of the airport.</s>Chairs, wheels and other parts of a crashed Indonesian Lion Air jet were hauled from the depths Friday, as authorities analysed black box data that may explain why the new plane plummeted into the Java Sea, killing 189 people.

Search teams have been scouring the seabed for the fuselage of the Boeing-737 MAX 8, which plunged into the waters off Indonesia's northern coast shortly after takeoff Monday despite only having been in service a few months.

"Today we will start diving (again) at the spot where we think the plane crashed," said Isswarto, commander of the Indonesian navy's search-and-rescue division.

"There is a lot of little debris, plane wheels, and chairs -- all totally destroyed and in pieces."

Divers were searching an area about 25-35 metres deep, but have been finding fewer body parts than earlier in the week, he added.

"They're scattered everywhere and some may have been washed away by the current."

Dozens of body bags containing remains have been recovered from the crash site so far.

Television images showed divers tying ropes to twisted plane parts scattered along the seafloor.

On Thursday, authorities said they had recovered one of the plane's black boxes, which airlines are required to install in jets, as well as parts of its landing gear.

The black box could offer investigators their best chance of discovering why such a new jet crashed. The devices help explain nearly 90 percent of all crashes, according to aviation experts.

The devices record information about the speed, altitude and direction of the plane as well as flight crew conversations.

The single-aisle Boeing plane, en route from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang city, is one of the world's newest and most advanced commercial passenger jets.

Boeing and US National Transportation Safety Board officials have joined the Indonesian team in sifting through twisted metal plane parts and piles of passengers' torn clothing, shoes, wallets and phones.

Passengers' remains are being sent to hospital for DNA identification, with the first funeral for one of the passengers held on Thursday.

But many other victims have yet to be found and there are hopes more can be recovered in the bulk of the wreckage, including those who may still be strapped to their seats.

Lion Air's admission that the jet had a technical issue on a previous flight -- as well its abrupt fatal dive -- have raised questions about whether it had mechanical faults such as a speed-and-altitude system malfunction.

The accident has resurrected concerns about Indonesia's poor air safety record which until recently saw its carriers facing years-long bans from entering European Union and US airspace.

Indonesia has had nearly 40 fatal aviation accidents in the past 15 years, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

Lion Air, Indonesia's biggest budget carrier, has been involved in a number of incidents including a fatal 2004 crash.

In 2014, an AirAsia crash in the Java Sea during stormy weather killed 162 people.</s>An Indonesian rescue diver died in a search operation for a jet that crashed early this week near Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board, the search and rescue agency (Basarnas) said on Saturday.

Syachrul Anto, 48, died on Friday while diving to search for victims of the crashed Lion Air aircraft, the agency said on Saturday.

“Deepest condolences for the passing of a humanitarian hero from the Indonesian Diving Rescue Team,” Basarnas chief Muhammad Syaugi said in a news release.

It was not immediately clear how Anto perished. Anto’s family had chosen not to conduct an autopsy and asked for his remains to be buried immediately, Basarnas spokesman Yusuf Latif told Reuters by text message.

Among other missions, Anto was also one of the main divers involved in the search for an AirAsia jet that crashed off Borneo in late 2014.

Rescue divers have been crucial in recovering human remains and pieces of the wrecked near-new Boeing Co. (BA.N) 737 MAX that smashed into the sea early on Monday, 13 minutes after it took off from Jakarta.

As of Saturday a total of 73 body bags, few containing intact remains, had been recovered, but only four of the victims had been identified.

Divers have been searching through debris on the muddy sea bed for a second black box from the jet, as investigators try to get data from a partly damaged recorder recovered on Thursday.

The pilot of flight JT610 had asked for, and received, permission to turn back to Jakarta, but what went wrong remains a mystery.

“The team have been hearing the ‘ping’ sound from another black box for two days,” Soerjanto Tjahjono, head of the transportation safety committee (KNKT), told Reuters on Friday.

The sea is only 30 m (98 ft) deep at the crash site but strong currents and nearby pipelines have hampered the search.

Visiting the search operation headquarters at Jakarta’s port on Friday, President Joko Widodo thanked rescue officials and the military involved and appealed for them to step up the search.

“I ask for you to use all your might, all the technology available, to work fast to find anything else,” he said.

While victims’ relatives are desperate to know what happened, the investigation of the first crash of a Boeing 737 MAX is also the focus of scrutiny by the global aviation industry. Preliminary investigation findings are expected to be made public after 30 days.

Indonesia is one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets but its safety record has been patchy. Its transport safety panel investigated 137 serious aviation incidents from 2012 to 2017.

“There’s still a lot we need to improve,” Air Transportation Director General Pramintohadi Sukarno said at a press conference on Saturday, referring to safety rules.</s>JAKARTA: An Indonesian rescue diver died in a search operation for a jet that crashed early this week near Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board, the search and rescue agency (Basarnas) said on Saturday.

Syachrul Anto, 48, died on Friday while diving to search for victims of the crashed Lion Air aircraft, the agency said on Saturday.

“Deepest condolences for the passing of a humanitarian hero from the Indonesian Diving Rescue Team,” Basarnas chief Muhammad Syaugi said in a news release.

It was not immediately clear how Anto perished. Anto’s family had chosen not to conduct an autopsy and asked for his remains to be buried immediately, Basarnas spokesman Yusuf Latif told Reuters by text message. Among other missions, Anto was also one of the main divers involved in the search for an AirAsia jet that crashed off Borneo in late 2014.

Rescue divers have been crucial in recovering human remains and pieces of the wrecked near-new Boeing Co. (BA.N) 737 MAX that smashed into the sea early on Monday, 13 minutes after it took off from Jakarta.

As of Saturday a total of 73 body bags, few containing intact remains, had been recovered, but only four of the victims had been identified.

Divers have been searching through debris on the muddy sea bed for a second black box from the jet, as investigators try to get data from a partly damaged recorder recovered on Thursday.

The pilot of flight JT610 had asked for, and received, permission to turn back to Jakarta, but what went wrong remains a mystery.

“The team have been hearing the ‘ping’ sound from another black box for two days,” Soerjanto Tjahjono, head of the transportation safety committee (KNKT), told Reuters on Friday.</s>JAKARTA (Reuters) - An Indonesian rescue diver died in the search for a passenger jet that crashed early this week near Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board, the search and rescue agency (Basarnas) said on Saturday.

Syachrul Anto, 48, died on Friday while diving to search for victims of the crashed Lion (Air) aircraft,” the agency said on Saturday via its Instagram account sar_nasional.

“Deepest condolences for the passing of a humanitarian hero from the Indonesian Diving Rescue Team,” Basarnas chief Syaugi said in a news release. Anto died at around 4 p.m. on Friday, it said.

It was not immediately clear how Anto perished. Anto’s family had chosen not to conduct an autopsy and asked for his remains to be buried immediately, Basarnas spokesman Yusuf Latif told Reuters by text message.

Among other missions, Anto was also one of the main divers involved in the search for an AirAsia jet that crashed off Borneo in late 2014, he said.

Rescue divers have played critical roles in recovering human remains for identification and finding out what happened to the near-new Boeing Co. 737 MAX that crashed early on Monday into the Java Sea, 13 minutes after it took off from Jakarta.

As of Saturday a total of 73 body bags, few containing intact remains, had been recovered from the site.

Divers have been searching for a second black box from the jet, as investigators try to get data from a partly damaged recorder recovered from sunken wreckage on Thursday.

The pilot of flight JT610 had asked for, and received, permission to turn back to Jakarta, but what went wrong remains a mystery.

“The team have been hearing the ‘ping’ sound from another black box for two days,” Soerjanto Tjahjono told Reuters.

The sea is only 30 m (98 ft) deep at the crash site but strong currents and nearby pipelines have hampered the search.

While victims’ relatives are desperate to know what happened, the investigation of the first crash of a Boeing 737 MAX is also the focus of scrutiny by the global aviation industry. Results of a preliminary investigation will be made public after 30 days, one official on the investigation team said.

Indonesia is one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets but its safety record has been patchy. Its transport safety panel investigated 137 serious aviation incidents from 2012 to 2017.</s>A rescue diver has died while searching the wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed earlier this week in Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board.

Syachrul Anto, 48, was searching for victims of the Lion Air flight when he got into trouble yesterday.

The search and rescue agency (Basarnas) confirmed his death today but did not give a specific cause.

Basarnas chief Muhammad Syaugi said: ‘Deepest condolences for the passing of a humanitarian hero from the Indonesian Diving Rescue Team.’

Mr Anto’s family had chosen not to conduct an autopsy and asked for his remains to be buried immediately.

Divers were searching through debris on the muddy sea bed for a second black box from the jet.

MORE: Prince Charles vibes with local band while visiting Africa

Flight JT610 crashed into the sea early on Monday, 13 minutes after it took off from Jakarta.

The pilot of the Boeing 737 had turned back to Jakarta after requesting permission to do so from air traffic control.

Rescuers have so far retrieved 73 body bags containing human remains but they have only managed to identify four people.

President Joko Widodo encouraged rescuers to step the search for the dead, saying: ‘I ask for you to use all your might, all the technology available, to work fast to find anything else.’

He also thanked rescue crews for their hard work.</s>JAKARTA - An Indonesian diver died while recovering body parts from the ill-fated Lion Air plane which crashed into the sea killing 189 people, an official said Saturday.

Syachrul Anto, 48, who died on Friday, was part of the team searching for body parts and debris from the jet in the Java Sea. “He was a volunteer with the Search and Rescue Agency,” Isswarto, commander of the Indonesian navy’s search and rescue division, told AFP. It is believed he died from decompression.

“He was found by the SAR team, fainted. He was treated by our doctors, after he regained consciousness, we sent him to the chamber for decompression.

“We have all the equipment, however God’s will says differently,” national search and rescue agency head Muhammad Syaugi said at a press conference.

Anto had previously served in Palu which suffered an earthquake and tsunami in September and was also involved in recovering the bodies and debris from an Air Asia plane crash nearly four years ago.

The Lion Air plane which crashed Monday was en route from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang city on Sumatra island.

It plunged into the water just minutes after takeoff, killing everyone on board.

At least 73 bags containing body parts have been retrieved from the waters so far but only four victims have been identified.

Officials on Thursday retrieved the flight data recorder but are still searching for the second black box, the cockpit voice recorder, which could answer the question as to why the brand new Boeing-737 MAX 8 crashed.

“We have heard a weak ‘ping’ ... the divers are still searching for it,” Syaugi said.

Two days after the flight data recorder was recovered, investigators at Indonesia’s national transportation safety committee have yet to download the key data due to salt residue on the memory card.

Nurcahyo Utomo, head of aircraft transport accident investigation at the NTSC said, said there were “some obstacles” and the process required more time than expected.

The committee has been receiving help from their American counterparts at the US National Transportation Safety Board, but will be getting additional assistance from Australia, Utomo added.

“This afternoon, investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau will arrive to help download the black box data”, he said.

Saudi Arabia has also asked for permission to send an observer, but to learn from the whole process and not to assist, Utomo added.

Lion Air’s admission that the doomed jet had a technical issue on a previous flight - as well its abrupt fatal dive - have raised questions about whether it had mechanical faults specific to the new model.

Founded in 1999, Lion Air is a budget airline operating in Indonesia and in some parts of Southeast Asia, Australia and the Middle East.

But it has been plagued by safety concerns and customer complaints over unreliable scheduling and poor service.

The carrier has been involved in a number of incidents including a fatal 2004 crash and a collision between two Lion Air planes at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport.</s>A 48-year-old Indonesian diver died while recovering the bodies of Lion Air plane crash victims. An official said on Saturday, November 3 that the deceased diver was part of the search team, which is assigned to recover the debris of jet and dead bodies in the Java Sea.

The commander of the Indonesian navy's Search and Rescue division, Isswarto told AFP the diver, Syachrul Anto was a volunteer with the search and rescue Agency. Reports also stated that it is believed that he died from decompression.

"He was found by the SAR team, fainted. He was treated by our doctors after he regained consciousness, we sent him to the chamber for decompression. We have all the equipment, however, God's will says differently," national search and rescue agency head Muhammad Syaugi said at a press conference.

Earlier, Anto volunteered during Indonesia's devastating earthquake in Palu and tsunami in September 2018. He was also involved in recovering the bodies and debris from an Air Asia plane crash that happened almost four years ago.

The Lion Air crashed into the sea minutes after it took off from Jakarta killing 189 people. On Thursday, November 1, officials recovered the flight data recorder but are still searching for the second black box, the cockpit voice recorder, which could answer the question as to why the brand new Boeing-737 MAX 8 crashed.

As of now almost 73 bags containing body parts have been recovered from the sea and the officials identified only four victims.</s>AN Indonesian rescue diver has died in a search operation for a jet that crashed early this week near Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board.

News of the death of Syachrul Anto, 48, came on Saturday as authorities revealed divers had reported seeing the fuselage and engines of the crashed Lion Air jet on the sea floor and a ping locator had detected a signal possibly from the cockpit voice recorder.

Anto died on Friday while diving to search for victims of the crashed plane, search and rescue agency Basarnas said.

"Deepest condolences for the passing of a humanitarian hero from the Indonesian Diving Rescue Team," chief officer Muhammad Syaugi said in a news release.

It was not immediately clear how Anto perished. His family had chosen not to conduct an autopsy and asked for his remains to be buried immediately, Basarnas spokesman Yusuf Latif told Reuters.

Among other missions, Anto was also one of the main divers involved in the search for an AirAsia jet that crashed off Borneo in late 2014.

Rescue divers have been crucial in recovering human remains and pieces of the wrecked near-new Boeing Co. 737 MAX that smashed into the sea early on Monday, 13 minutes after it took off from Jakarta.

As of Saturday a total of 73 body bags, few containing intact remains, had been recovered but only four of the victims had been identified.

Divers have been searching through debris on the muddy sea bed for a second black box from the jet, as investigators try to get data from a partly damaged recorder recovered on Thursday.

The pilot of flight JT610 had asked for, and received, permission to turn back to Jakarta but what went wrong remains a mystery.

"Two engines and more landing gear have been found," Syaugi said.

"I haven't seen it myself but I got information from some divers that they have seen the fuselage," he said at a news conference at a Jakarta port where body bags, debris and passenger belongings are first taken.

The sea is only 30 m deep at the crash site but strong currents and nearby pipelines have hampered the search.

Visiting the search operation headquarters at Jakarta's port on Friday, President Joko Widodo thanked rescue officials and the military involved and appealed for them to step up the search.
An Indonesian Diving Rescue Team member dies while searching the debris from the passenger jet that crashed earlier this week near Jakarta.