Russian Rescue Team Joining Search At Sukhoi Crash Site

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya JAKARTA (Indonesia), May 14 (Bernama) -- A Russian rescue team has been given the permission to join the Indonesian search and rescue operation at the crash site of the Russian Sukhoi Superjet-100 aircraft on Salak Mountain, Bogor, West Java. The 15-member team was only given three days to help detect the wreckage of the aircraft. However, they are not allowed to remove any fragments, including the black box from the site, said Indonesia National Army Suryakencana Bogor Camp commandant Col Putranto. Rescue teams had yet to locate the black box. The aircraft, which was on a demonstration flight, with 45 crew members and passengers on board, went missing from the radar at about 2.50pm on Wednesday. Three more bodies of passengers were found today, the fifth day of the rescue operation, and so far 75 per cent of the wreckage was located between the mountain ridge. However, the fragments had yet to be retrieved for fear of falling on rescue personnel. So far 21 body bags containing bodies and body parts and personal items had been sent to a police hospital in Jakarta for identification before they are handed to family members. -- BERNAMA