Safety

18 Dead in Indonesia CASA 212 Crash

By Ali Kotarumalos, Associated Press Writer

posted: 29 June 2008 12:01 pm ET

: An Indonesian soldier guides a rescue helicopter helping evacuate the bodies of victims of an Indonesian military airplane crash on Sunday, July 29, 2008 in the Salak mountain, near Bogor, Indonesia. Rescuers recovered all 18 bodies Saturday from the wreckage of an Indonesian military CASA 212 turboprop transport that crashed into a jungle-covered mountain earlier this week, an air force official said. Credit: AP Photo

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers recovered all 18 bodies Saturday from the wreckage of an Indonesian military plane that crashed into a jungle-clad mountain, a military official said.

Air force spokesman Chaeruddin Ray said none of the victims had been identified.

Among the passengers were a Singaporean, an Indian and a Briton working for the Singapore-based company Credent Technology. They were testing new camera equipment on the CASA 212 plane when it went down Thursday during an aerial surveillance mission.

The wreckage was spotted Friday on the rugged, steep slopes of Salak Mountain, 60 miles from the capital, Jakarta, but search and rescue teams were not able to reach the site until early Saturday.

Ray said the bodies could not be immediately brought down from the crash site because of bad weather and rough terrain.

Television news showed military rescuers collecting the remains and loading them into body bags.

Indonesia has seen a spate of airline accidents in recent years. It was the second incident involving a CASA 212 plane in 2008, after a flight operated by the private Dirgantara Air Service crashed in January with three people on board.