Indonesian rescuers say they've discovered bodies near the shattered wreckage of a Russian jetliner that crashed into the side of a steep cliff south of Jakarta during an illustration flight.
Officials say rescue operations will continue, but warn there may be little chance of finding any survivors one of the estimated 50 people aboard the Sukhoi Superjet, which went missing on Wednesday. Â
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the crashed jetliner was located Thursday on a steep fringe of Mount Salak, a dormant volcano south of the capital.
"The airplane crashed on the fringe of Mount Salak. I actually have spoken on to our officer within the field. It was around 1.5 kilometers from the informed point of scene. An investigation ought to be done immediately and carefully. Search and rescue operations must prioritize finding people on board," he said.
Family members of the victims who had gathered at a Jakarta airport broke down in tears once they heard that the wreckage of the plane have been located.
Bad weather initially hampered the quest for the plane, which took off from Jakarta's Halim Airport shortly after 2 p.m. local time Wednesday. It was expected to go back in not up to an hour. However the plane dropped altitude from 3,000 to at least one,800 meters and lost contact with air traffic control around Mount Salak, that's 2,200 meters high.
Indonesia's Transport Ministry said the 100-seat new passenger plane built by Russia in a move to lift its civil aviation industry, was at the second of 2 demonstration flights when it disappeared within the remote Bogor region. The folks on board were all invited guests and included Indonesian airline and aviation executives, eight Russian crew members and five local journalists.
Russia has high hopes for its Superjet, which it believes would become an influential player inside the global aviation market.
The Itar-Tass news agency said the newly-minted plane recently performed demonstrations in Central and South Asia, including flights in Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Burma and had logged about 6,500 hours of flight time since its 2008 maiden launch.
The jetliner is currently in use with Russia's largest carrier, Aeroflot, and the Armenian carrier, Armavia.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
From WhatNewsToday.net
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