A joint search and rescue (SAR) team has evacuated six passengers and the pilots of the Susi Air Pilatus Porter PC-6 aircraft that crashed en route from Duma to Timika, Papua, on Thursday.
Timika Airfield Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Slamet Suhartono, told ANTARA that eight crash victims had been rescued from the aircraft wreckage.
Seven of the eight victims sustained severe injuries, including the aircraft pilot, Dayle Peter Houzet, who suffered a broken leg, he said.
All the victims were taken to a hospital in Timika, the commander said, adding that he had joined the rescue team at the crash site.
The airfield commander said that the aircraft has been severely damaged and its two black boxes are yet to be retrieved.
To determine its cause, the crash will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), which will also retrieve information from the black boxes, Suhartono added.
Earlier, Susi Pudjiastuti, the owner of PT ASI Pudjiastuti Aviation or Susi Air, had informed that all passengers on board the aircraft were safe.
“Update info: At 9 (a.m.), the captain pilot and all passengers are safe,” Pudjiastuti tweeted on Thursday.
She posted the tweet after sharing grim news of the Susi Air plane crashing with six passengers on board.
The aircraft took off from Timika for Duma at 5:34 a.m. local time (UTC +9) on Thursday. The plane was scheduled to arrive back in Timika at 8 a.m. local time. However, it lost contact with air control authorities at 8:20 a.m. local time.
The passengers on board the flight have been identified as Merina Dimpau, Fickien Dimpau, Philipus Dimpau, Leo Dimpau, Seruwarkis Diabilu, and Lukas Dimbau.
Source: Antara News