AIRLINER CRASHES IN INDONESIA
From the ERRI Watch Center
MAKARTI JAYA, INDONESIA (EmergencyNet News) - All 104 people aboard a Singapore SilkAir Boeing 737 were killed when the plane crashed on Friday in a river and swampy terrain on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. On Saturday, divers tried to pry open the doors of the wrecked jet whose nose was buried in the muddy bed of the Musi River.
Rescuers reportedly found body parts along with passengers' personal belongings from a ten-square-mile area. The mostly intact fuselage was found Saturday at the bottom of the river. The recovery team cast a net over the plane to prevent debris from drifting away.
A strong undercurrent and poor visibility in the river made it difficult for divers to open the doors. Welding tools were being brought in to help in the recovery.
Local media reports said the tail of the plane was shattered and the rear section of the body was badly damaged. There have been unsubstantiated reports that the plane exploded. Witnesses have said the plane exploded twice in the air and again when it hit the water.
One witness described what he saw by saying: "It came in very low. It was going down. It exploded in the air and then a few seconds later it exploded again when it hit the water."
There were no distress signals. There were no adverse weather conditions. There was no mountainous terrain. SilkAir is a division of Singapore Airlines. Flight MI-185 was carrying seven crew members and 97 passengers: 40 Singaporeans, 23 Indonesians, 10 Malaysians, five Americans, 14 Europeans, two Japanese, one Taiwanese, one Australian and one Indian. The plane, a Boeing 737-300, was only ten months old and was the newest aircraft in the SilkAir fleet.
In Washington, the National Transportation Safety Board dispatched an investigating team to the crash site, including an explosives expert.