Suspected human remains and debris from the Boeing 737 plane that crashed into the sea only minutes after it took off on Saturday were brought ashore on Sunday.
The passenger jet carrying 62 people took off from Soekamo-Hatta International airport in Jakarta at 1:56 pm.
But only four minutes later, the Boeing 737-500 aircraft crashed 10,000 ft into the Java sea.
Photos from Jakarta showed rescue teams carrying heavy-duty bags, some of which appeared to be bags containing human remains.
Local lifeboat commander Captain Eko Surya Hadi said that body parts were found, saying: “We found body parts, life jackets, avtur (aviation turbine fuel) and debris of the plane.”
In an interview with BBC, a fisherman named Solihin said that he saw the plane plunged into the sea near his ship.
“The plane fell like lightning into the sea and exploded in the water,” Solihin said.
“It was pretty close to us, the shards of a kind of plywood almost hit my ship.”
62 passengers and crew members were onboard the aircraft, including 10 children, said Budi Karya Sumadi, the country’s transport minister.
Families of the missing passengers are now fearing the worst after rescue teams said they found suspected human remains and debris in the ocean.
Residents on a nearby island told reporters that they heard two explosions before finding cables, metal pieces, and fragments of clothes floating in the sea.
TV footage showed families and friends of missing people praying, crying, and comforting one another as they waited at both Pontianak’s airport and Jakarta’s airport.
“I have four family members on the flight – my wife and three children,” Yaman Zai said as he broke down in tears. “(My wife) sent me a picture of the baby today… How could my heart not be torn into pieces?”
Bambang Suryo Aji, a senior official at the search and rescue agency, said: “We deployed our team and sea riders to the location suspected to be where it went down after losing contact.”
A Boeing spokesperson said: “We are aware of media reports from Jakarta, and are closely monitoring the situation. We are working to gather more information.”
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