A Lion Air plane crashed into the sea just minutes after taking off from Indonesia's capital on Monday, likely killing all 189 people on board.
The horrific Lion Air tragedy, which killed all 189 people on board flight JT610 when it plunged into the Java Sea, has taken another life — just as rescue workers found what they have long been searching for.
Making a solemn announcement on Saturday, Indonesia's search and rescue chief Muhammad Syaugi confirmed that they lost a volunteer Indonesian diver in the search for the downed flight.
Syachrul Anto, 48, passed away on Friday evening while he was recovering body parts from the Java Sea. It is believed he died from decompression.
"He was found by the SAR team, fainted. He was treated by our doctors, after he regained consciousness, we sent him to the chamber for decompression," Mr Syaugi said at a press conference.
"We have all the equipment, however God's will says differently."
Indonesia's search and rescue chief Muhammad Syaugi confirmed that they lost a volunteer Indonesian diver in the search for the downed flight. Photo / AP
Isswarto, commander of the Indonesian navy's search and rescue division, told AFP that Anto was a volunteer with the Search and Rescue Agency.
The 48-year-old diver had previously served in Palu, which suffered an earthquake and tsunami in September, and was also involved in recovering the bodies and debris from an Air Asia plane crash nearly four years ago.
His family had chosen not to conduct an autopsy and asked for his remains to be buried immediately, Basarnas spokesman Yusuf Latif told Reuters.
Rescue divers have been crucial in recovering human remains and pieces of the wrecked near-new Boeing Co. 737 MAX.
As of Saturday a total of 73 body bags, few containing intact remains, had been recovered but only four of the victims had been identified.
DIVERS DETECT NEW PING
An investigator inspect debris recovered from the Java Sea. Photo / AP
Divers believe they have detected a signal that may be from the cockpit voice recorder and they believe they have found what they have long been looking for — the plane's fuselage.
The plane crashed in waters 30 meters deep but strong currents have hampered the search.
Speaking on the sixth day of the search, Mr Syaugi said that two engines and more landing gear had been found.
"I haven't seen it myself but I got information from some divers that they have seen the fuselage," he said at a news conference at a Jakarta port where body bags, debris and passenger belongings are first taken.
The fuselage is the main body of an aircraft.
The brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet plunged into the Java Sea just minutes after takeoff from Jakarta early on October 29, killing all 189 people on board and baffling aviation experts.
The flight data recorder, or black box, was recovered on Thursday and Mr Syaugi said a "low ping signal" was detected by a sonar locator that could be the black box voice recorder.
Divers and a remotely operated vehicle have been searching the suspected location since Saturday morning.
Investigators are scrambling to try to get data from the partly damaged black box recovered on Thursday. They are hoping that the discovery of the second black box, as well as the fuselage, will provide answers as to what caused the deadly accident.
Flight tracking websites show the plane had erratic speed and altitude during its 13 minute flight Monday and a previous flight on Sunday from Bali to Jakarta.
Passengers on Sunday's flight reported terrifying descents and in both cases the different cockpit crews requested to return to their departure airport shortly after takeoff.
Lion has claimed a technical problem was fixed after Sunday's flight.
BOEING INVESTIGATION UNEARTHS FAULTS
Rescuers carry body bags containing the remains of the victims of Lion Air crash. Photo / AP
In an investigation of 10 of the newly released Boeing 737-MAX 8 jets owned by Lion and flagship carrier Garuda, Indonesia's transport ministry found faults in two others, including a cockpit indicator display problem which an analyst warned may be similar to one reported in the crashed Lion Air Jet.
Few details have been released but the ministry said it had looked over half a dozen jets so far and discovered that one had a problem linked to its cockpit display while another had a glitch in a jet stabilisation system.
Both Lion-owned planes required new components, it said.
Aviation analyst Dudi Sudibyo said the cockpit display issue could include a speed-and-altitude glitch reported in the doomed jet.
Mr Sudibyo then stressed that with aeroplanes, "even if there is a single, tiny fault it should not fly."
If there is a problem with the new Boeing 737-MAX 8 jets, that will have implications for flyers around the world, including Australia.
It's understood Virgin Australia has 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes on order, with the first of them due to arrive in November next year.
The Lion Air crash is the worst airline disaster in Indonesia since 1997, when 234 people died on a Garuda flight near Medan.
In December 2014, an AirAsia flight from Surabaya to Singapore plunged into the sea, killing all 162 on board.
Indonesian airlines were barred in 2007 from flying to Europe because of safety concerns, though several were allowed to resume services in the following decade. The ban was completely lifted in June. The US lifted a decade-long ban in 2016.
Lion Air is one of Indonesia's youngest airlines but has grown rapidly, flying to dozens of domestic and international destinations.
It has been expanding aggressively in Southeast Asia, a fast-growing region of more than 600 million people.
