REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The bodies of all victims of the Trigana aircraft that crashed in Pegunungan Bintang District have been transported to Bhayangkara Hospital in Jayapura, Papua, for the postmortem identification process.
"Other 25 bodies of the victims of Trigana aircraft have arrived in Jayapura. Thus, all victims have been moved to Bhayangkara Hospital for the postmortem identification process," the Transportation Ministry's head of public communications, Julius Andravida Barata, noted here on Thursday.
Until 10 a.m. local time, 29 bodies had arrived in Jayapura, while the remaining 25 bodies arrived at Sentani Airport at 11 a.m. local time, Barata noted.
Earlier, Transportation Minister Ignatius Jonan had lauded the joint rescue team for its efforts in searching and transporting the victims of the crashed aircraft in Papua.
"This is an effective joint team as it was able to accomplish the required tasks in less than 48 hours," he pointed out in Jayapura, Papua's provincial capital, on Tuesday.
He noted that when the Air Asia aircraft had crashed in the past, the evacuation work took a relatively longer time.
"The government therefore thanks the joint team, the military, police, and all parties who have taken part in the operations," the minister affirmed.
The minister also conveyed his deepest condolences to the family members and relatives of the victims, expressing hope that they would accept their fate with courage and sincerity.
"I also hope that the Trigana management would fulfill the victims' rights and meet its insurance obligations," he added.
The ill-fated ATR aircraft, bearing Flight No. 257, lost contact on Sunday at 2:55 p.m. local time, during its flight from Jayapura to Oksibil, the district capital of Pegunungan Bintang, Papua.
The aircraft, with 49 passengers and five crew members, including Pilot Hasanudin and co-pilot Aryadi, was due to arrive in Oksibil at 3:15 p.m. Eastern Indonesian Time, after a 55-minute flight but failed to make its scheduled landing.
The rescuers successfully discovered all 54 bodies of the victims of the accident and found the aircraft's black box on Tuesday.
However, the evacuation process was halted on Tuesday due to bad weather and was continued on Wednesday.
The efforts to transport the bodies of the 54 victims onboard the ill-fated Trigana Airways aircraft were hindered due to extreme weather on Monday and Tuesday, Chief of the Pegunungan Bintang district police Adjunct Senior Commissioner Yunus Wally stated.
Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika