Indonesia: Bad weather halts search for plane wreckage

By Iqbal Musyaffa

JAKARTA (AA) - Poor weather conditions Wednesday hampered the search for the Sriwijaya Air SJ 182 plane debris in the Indonesian waters.

Abdul Haris Achadi, an official of the National Search and Rescue Agency, said the search operation was called off as the extreme weather continues with height of sea waves rising up to 2.5 meters (8.2 feet).

According to the official, a search and rescue ship which departed at 9.30 a.m local time (0230GMT), had to return to base.

“As we departed, the wave reached 1.5-meter [4.9-feet] high. We forced to turn back due to weather,” he told media at the Jakarta International Container Terminal.

Achadi said they will resume the search once the weather improved.

The Indonesian passenger aircraft with 62 people on board crashed into the sea on Saturday after taking off from the capital Jakarta.

The plane had 50 passengers on board, including 10 children and 12 crew members, according to authorities.

* Writing by Maria Elisa Hospita from Anadolu Agency's Indonesian-language service in Jakarta.