Debris of the Russian Sukhoi SuperJet-100, which dropped off radar during a demonstration flight Wednesday, have been found on a cliff of Mount Salak, say Indonesian Air Force officials. No word has yet come about the fate of the 48 people on board.
"Rescuers on the helicopters could clearly see the wreckage located at the top of Mount Salak," including the blue-and-white of the aircraft maker, says Gagah Prakoso, a spokesman for the Search and Rescue National Agency.
"There is no sign of any of the passengers," he said, adding the helicopters are trying to move closer to the wrechage now.
The scattered debris of the Russian-made plane was spotted on a cliff of Salak, a volcano in Java's west, around at the coordinates, where it disappeared from the screens.
Ali Umri Lubis, a spokesman for a military airbase, says the plane was spotted in the Cijeruk area, near Mount Salak, close to the city of Bogor in West Java. The plane went down at an elevation of about 1,500 meters (5,000 feet).
Three helicopters and over 600 rescuers resumed a search operation around Salak on Thursday morning. Before that Indonesian authorities still expressed hope that the plane had made an emergency landing. But the capital's Emergency Agency chief, Ketut Parwa, admitted that if there had been an emergency landing, some information via the radio or phone calls would have been received by now.
The 48 people onboard included Indonesian businessmen, Russian embassy officials and journalists. Earlier reports suggested the plane took off with 50 people, but then it proved two Indonesian men had decided to skip the demonstration flight.
Relatives of the missing passengers started streaming to Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport in Jakarta on Wednesday night. The shattering news of the found wreckage reduced many to tears.
Russia's first all-new passenger jet since the fall of the Soviet Union disappeared from radar screens south of the capital Jakarta on Wednesday, 21 minutes into what was meant to be a brief demonstration flight. The vehicle was taking part in an international air show in Indonesia when it got lost around Salakat about 0800 GMT first descending to 6,000 feet.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered a special commission comprising members of the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Industry and the airplane manufacturer to investigate the incident. Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to head the rescue mission later in the day.
- RT
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