Remains of at least 36 people have been recovered by specialized search and rescue divers from the underwater wreckage of Sriwijaya Air flight 182 in the Java Sea offshore of Indonesia's capital Jakarta.
The 26-year old Boeing 737 jet crashed into the ocean near Jakarta shortly after takeoff on Jan. 9. and all 62 people onboard, including 10 children, are presumed dead.
Red Cross workers wearing hazmat suits could be seen on Thursday spraying down 36 body bags with disinfectant before medics took possession of the remains.
At least six deceased passengers have since been identified by forensic examiners, including the remains of flight attendant Okky Bisma who was buried by family members in a funeral Thursday.
Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim-majority nation and Islamic funeral traditions demand quick burials.
Unfortunately, most of the plane crash victims will not be buried quickly as medical staff struggle to identify mangled human remains recovered from the water-logged debris.
The plane had flown 132 flights since government officials certified it flightworthy in mid-December after nine months in storage at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Flight 182 commanding pilot Captain Afwan used the months of downtime to practice on a flight simulator according to reports.
The jet completed four other flights on the day of the crash before taking its last ill-fated trip during a heavy rainstorm.
Three days after the crash, divers recovered the plane's flight data recorder. The search continues for a second black box containing the cockpit voice recorder which will hold clues about the actions of pilots in their final minutes.
The pattern of debris recovered by searchers suggest the jet entered the water fairly intact according to Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee and had not exploded.
Difficult weather and thick mud underwater has made finding the device in the wreckage a challenge, a spokesperson for the Indonesian Navy said, but officials are confident the voice recorder is within 50 feet from where the flight data recorder was found on Tuesday.
The Sriwijaya crash is the largest airline disaster to occur in Indonesia since 2018, when a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX malfunctioned shortly after takeoff resulting in the deaths of all 189 people onboard.
