Jayapura, Jubi – On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, a total of six bodies of passengers and crew members of SAM Air arrived at Bhayangkara Hospital in Jayapura City, Papua. Bhayangkara Hospital’s Disaster Victim Identification teams will be responsible for identifying the bodies.
The plane, registered as PK-SMW and operated by SAM Air, crashed on Mount Mabualem in Welarek District, Yalimo Regency, Mountainous Papua Province, last Friday. The pilot, Hari Permadi, and co-pilot, Levi Murib, were on board along with four passengers: Bartolomeus (34), Ebeth Halerohon (29), Dormina Halerohon (17), and Kilimputni (20).
Upon arrival at Bhayangkara Hospital, the victims’ coffins were unloaded from the ambulance and taken to the mortuary for identification based on the data provided by their families.
“There will be three teams involved in the identification process. Based on initial information from the Jayawijaya Police chief, some of the victims may have suffered burns and might not be intact,” said Sr. Comr. Nariyana, head of Medicine and Health at the Papua Police on Tuesday.
Nariyana mentioned that his office has received data for six victims of the plane crash. However, they are still waiting for the family to provide data for another victim to facilitate the identification process.
“We are committed to expediting the identification process,” he stated. “I have reached out to colleagues from the Indonesia Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (Inafis) and the Papua Police General Criminal Investigation Directorate to assist us in this process,” he added.
He expressed his hope that the identification process could be completed within the next two days. “If the condition of the victims’ bodies is preserved and circumstances permit, we will strive to complete it as quickly as possible,” he concluded. (*)
