Navy salvages Lion Air wreckage

by Ranil Wijayapala

Special diving teams of the Sri Lanka Navy yesterday salvaged six parts of the huge wreckage of the Lion Air aircraft that crashed into the Northern seas off Iranatheevu in 1998 along with 48 civilians. They commenced salvaging the wreckage after postponing their initial effort in October 2012 due to bad weather, Navy Spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya told the Sunday Observer.

He said a special team of 80 divers and two landing crafts Rana Gaja LCM and L 820 landing craft are engaged in the salvaging of the wreckage in the seas off Iranatheevu. “Naval teams engaged in the operation salvaged six huge parts of the wreckage and transported them to Kankesanthurai on Saturday itself”, he said. He said though the salvage operation was planned for Friday they could not go ahead with it due to bad weather conditions on Friday.

The operation commenced around 7.30 am yesterday as weather conditions improved, he said.

The remaining parts of the wreckage will be salvaged by the Navy team on Sunday. “We are hoping to complete the salvage operation on Sunday”, he said. “The Navy is conducting the salvage operation in the presence of the TID officials and the Magistrate”, he said.

The Sri Lanka Navy engaged in the salvage operation on the request of the Terrorist Investigation Division of the Police, based on a statement given by an LTTE cadre under their custody.

Based on the information the Navy searched the seabed in the seas off Iranatheevu and located the wreckage of the Lion Air domestic passenger plane mid last year.

According to Navy sources the Navy team located two aircraft wings, three tyres, the engine and the front part of the fuselage.

The Lion Air flight 602, AN 24 aircraft carrying 48 civilians and eight crew including two Ukrainian pilots went missing on September 29, 1998 over the Northern seas and it was believed that terrorists in a missile attack, shot down Antonov 24 aircraft over Iranatheevu Island, 10 minutes after it took off from Palaly.