Indonesia expands operation area with more fleets to search for crashed plane

JAKARTA - Indonesia's search and rescue (SAR) team has expanded the operation area to search for debris and victims of the Sriwijaya Air plane crash with more fleets on the third day of operations, the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency said on Monday.

"While yesterday we focused on a narrower area, today we decided to expand the range of search operations," the agency's Operation Director Brig. Gen. Rasman M.S. said.

Likewise, the SAR team deployed 53 ships on Monday, while the number was about 30 on Sunday.

The SAR team also sent 18 units of jet ski and sea riders to explore the waters, as well as 10 helicopters and three fixed-wing glider planes for air exploration.

Monday's search was carried out in six sectors, involving about 2,600 personnel from the police, the army, the SAR team, and others.

So far, officers have found the wreckage of the ill-fated plane and body parts belongings to the victims, and have estimated the location of the black boxes.

The Boeing 737-500 aircraft, flying from the capital Jakarta to Pontianak city in West Kalimantan province on Saturday afternoon, crashed into the Java Sea off the Seribu District in north of Jakarta.

It was carrying 50 passengers, including seven children and three babies, and 12 crew members.