ndonesian Military (TNI) chief Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said on Wednesday that a joint search and rescue team had found an object believed to be the aircraft fuselage of missing Lion Air flight JT 610, although this has yet to be confirmed.
"We have marked the coordinates and all vessels are being focused to those coordinates to confirm it," Hadi told reporters as broadcast live on TV One.
"Hopefully the object is part of the aircraft we are looking for."
The object in question is about 22 meters long.
Hadi said the effort was being led by the Navy’s KRI Rigel, which has various equipment such as a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and multi beam echo sounder, as well as other vessels from the Navy's Hydrography and Oceanography Center (Pushidros) that have similar equipment.
"Basarnas [the National Search and Rescue Agency] is also deploying its own vessels with similar capabilities," he said.
Hadi together with Basarnas chief Marshal M. Syaugi and the Navy's Fleet I chief Rear Adm. Yudo Margono are scheduled to go to the coordinates soon.
The Lion Air Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed on Monday morning into the Java Sea off Karawang, West Java, about 13 minutes after taking off from Soekarno Hatta International Airport bound for Depati Amir Airport in Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung Islands. (nvn)
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