JAKARTA: Indonesian navy divers searching the ocean floor have recovered a “black box” from a Sriwijaya Air jet that crashed into the Java Sea with 62 people on board.
The recovery of the device is expected to help investigators determine what caused the Boeing 737-500 plane to nosedive into the ocean shortly after takeoff from Jakarta on Saturday
TV stations on Tuesday showed divers on an inflatable vessel with a large white container containing the black box. It was unclear whether the device was the plane’s flight data or cockpit voice recorder. It will be handed over to the National Transportation Safety Committee which is overseeing the crash investigation.
A navy ship earlier picked up intense pings being emitted from the two recorders. They were buried in seabed mud under tons of sharp objects in the wreckage, navy Chief Adm Yudo Margono said. He said at least 160 divers were deployed on Tuesday in the search for the devices.
More than 3,600 rescue personnel, 13 helicopters, 54 large ships and 20 small boats are searching the area just north of Jakarta where Flight 182 crashed and have found parts of the plane and human remains in the water at a depth of 23m.
The searchers have sent 74 body bags containing human remains to police identification experts who on Monday said they had identified their first victim, 29-year-old flight attendant Okky Bisma.
Anguished family members have been providing samples for DNA tests and police say results are expected in four to eight days.
