Special Report: Indonesian passenger plane
missing
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The propeller of an Indonesia navy
airplane is pictured in bad weather during a search for the missing plane
in Indonesia's Sulawesi island Jan. 3, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo)
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JAKARTA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Another Indonesian naval ship, the KRI Ajak,
has picked sonar signals indicating the presence of metal objects on the sea bed
off Mamuju in Central Sulawesi, corroborating the finding earlier made by the
Navy's KRI Fatahillah in the search for the Adam Air jetliner that went missing
a week ago, a naval spokesman said.
"Last night (Monday, Jan.8), the KRI Ajak's sonar picked up signals showing
the presence of metal objects. Now, there are fivewarships, three Cassa planes
and one Nomad aircraft that are studying the signals further," Antara news
agency quoted Lt Col Toni Syaiful, spokesman for the Navy's Eastern Fleet
Command, as saying in Surabaya, capital of East Java province Tuesday.
The KRI Fatahillah of the Eastern Fleet Command which had been assigned to
search for the ill-fated Adam Air plane on Monday at about 3:00 a.m. local time
detected the metal objects lying at a depth of 1,050 meters beneath sea level at
a point two miles north of Tanjung Rengat, Mamuju district.
"The signals caught by the KRI Ajak have enhanced our belief about the
presence of metal objects on the sea bed. But what they really are is still a
mystery. We don't know whether they have something to do with the missing Adam
Air plane," he said.
Toni said besides the KRI Fatahillah and the KRI Ajak, the sonar signals
were now also being studied by three other warships which had a capability to
detect objects lying as deep as 2,000 meters below sea level.
In addition, he said, a U.S. warship which was reported to have been
assigned to help in the search for the missing plane would also be directed to
the location where the signals on the metal objects were received but it was
still unknown when the U.S. ship would arrive in Indonesia.
The Adam Air Boeing 737-400 jetliner went missing with 102 people on board
on January 1 on a flight from Surabaya to Manado.
(2007-01-09 22:02:10 )
JAKARTA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- An oceanographic survey ship belonging to the
U.S. government is due to enter Indonesian territories Tuesday to join the
search for a missing passenger plane that carried 102 people.
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