REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The joint search team has recovered some 50 percent of the fuselage of the National Police's M-28 Skytruck airplane, which crashed in the waters of Riau Islands, a National Police spokesperson said here, Thursday. "As of the fifth day of the search (Wednesday), several human body parts have been found as well as the center section of the frame of the plane, so almost 50 percent of the airplane's frame has been recovered," Chief of Public Information of National Police Senior Commissioner Martinus Sitompul said at a press conference here, Thursday.

The rescuers are continuing the search operation to rescue victims and recover more debris from the ill-fated airplane. The local authority reported that human body parts have been found and delivered to the Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Batam for identification.

A team from the police's Health and Medical Center has started the identification process, which involves comparisons of post-mortem and anti-mortem data. Meanwhile, National Police Chief General Tito Karnavian has asked the rescue team to continue the search operation until Monday (12/12).

The police plane departed from Jakarta to travel to Pangkal Pinang in the Sumatran province of the Bangka-Belitung Islands with 16 people on board. Three passengers disembarked at Pangkal Pinang, while the remaining 13 continued the flight to Batam, Riau Islands. The plane crashed en-route to Batam on Saturday (12/3). All the passengers on board, including the crew members, were policemen.

The plane reportedly lost contact above the northern waters of Lingga District, Riau Islands Province. The search operation, led by the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), is utilizing advanced technology to find both debris and passengers from the ill-fated plane. The joint task force comprises Basarnas personnel and members of the coast guard, the navy, and the Rescue Coordination Center in Singapore.

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