No sign of survivors from Lion Air crash

So far, at least 10 bodies have been recovered, now in hospital for identification. 14 bags of debris and personal belongings of passengers collected from the sea. Two victims are foreigners: an Indian and an Italian. Through the use of drones and sonar technologies, the authorities are focused on recovering the black boxes of the plane, while investigators try to determine the cause of the accident.

Jakarta (AsiaNews / Agencies) - 24 hours after the JT-610 flight of Lion Air crash there is no sign of survivors. In the waters off the island of Java, rescue teams are engaged in the recovery of human remains, debris and personal belongings.

Headed for the city of Pangkal Pinang, the plane crashed yesterday morning a few minutes after taking off from Jakarta. The National Transport Safety Committee (NTSC) states that 178 adult passengers, one child, two newborns, two pilots and six crew members were on board the aircraft. The only foreign citizens in the cabin were one of the two pilots, Indian, and Andrea Manfredi, 26 year old Italian native of Massa.

Muhammad Syaugi, head of the National Rescue Agency (Basarnas), states that a total of 50 divers are engaged in research operations, which take place in waters 30-40 meters deep. So far, they have recovered at least 10 bodies, in hospital for identification. Among these, there are also the remains of a child. Also 14 bags of debris and personal belongings of passengers were recovered.

Through the use of drones and sonar technologies, the authorities hope to recover the black boxes of the plane, while the investigators are struggling to determine the cause of the accident. The Boeing-737 Max became operation al on a few months ago.  It disappeared from the radar 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta and crashed into the sea shortly after asking to return to the Indonesian capital. According to the flight data survey websites, before the impact the JT 610 flight first accelerated and then suddenly lost altitude.

Edward Sirait, managing director of the Lion Air Group, yesterday revealed that the plane had had a technical problem on a previous flight, but all had been solved according to procedure. The airline added that the pilot and the co-pilot had accumulated 11 thousand flight hours.

The Lion Air aircraft was leased from CMIG Leasing Group, a Chinese company based in Tianjin. The JT-610 flight is the first fatal accident involving a plane chartered by a Chinese company. The plane was delivered to Lion Air in mid-August, according to Planespotters.net, a website that monitors air traffic. CMIG Leasing is a subsidiary founded only last year by China Minsheng Investment Group (CMIG), an investment group founded by 59 major private Chinese companies.