Indonesia Highlights: Families of Indonesian Victims in Sriwijaya Air Disaster Sues Boeing | Indonesia Denies International Pressure Behind Seizure of Tankers | Meteor Creates A Stir Upon Landing in L

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The loved ones of victims on the doomed Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ 182 have sued Boeing, the manufacturer of the 737-500 plane that went down with 62 people on Saturday, January 9. The lawsuit comes as most of the dead were accounted for.

The Indonesian Maritime Security Agency or Bakamla has denied that it was under international pressure to seize tankers from Iran and Panama, as it maintained that the vessels committed infractions on Indonesian waters.

And the sky continues to fall in parts of Indonesia, as a rock believed to be a meteorite put a hole through the roof of a house in Lampung Province. The incident comes less than a week after a similar incident occurred in Bali. Read on for these stories, as curated by our editors:

Dok. Polsek Pakuhaji Indonesian security personnel in Tangerang, Banten evacuate remains of one of the victims of the Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ182 on Tuesday, (19/1/2021)

Families of Indonesian Victims in Sriwijaya Air Disaster Sues Boeing

Three Indonesian families who lost their loved ones on Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ182 have filed a lawsuit against US aircraft manufacturer Boeing, three weeks after a Boeing 737-500 airliner flown by the low-cost carrier crashed off Jakarta on January 9.

“We have filed the suit to the Cook County Circuit Court in the US state of Illinois, the location of Boeing’s main offices as of January 25. The lawsuit is currently awaiting mediation,” said lawyer Ernie Auliasari on Friday, January 29.

“The three plaintiffs are seeking compensation [from Boeing] that is higher than the Rp. 1.25 billion [$89,098.25] offered by [Sriwijaya Air] and stipulated by the Jasa Raharja travel insurance company,” Ernie noted.

“By Indonesian law, Sriwijaya and other [Indonesian] airlines are required to compensate the victims’ families a flat rate of Rp. 1.25 billion,” she pointed out.

“On the other hand, my clients can get more indemnities from Boeing by adjusting it to the deceased’s status, number of dependents, age, occupation and other factors.”

The lawsuit comes as Indonesian National Police’s Disaster Victim Identification [DVI] have identified three more victims of the disaster, including 54-year old Captain Afwan RZ, the pilot of the downed airline.

“This finding brings the list of dead in the disaster to 58 out of 62 passengers and crew on the plane,” said Police spokesman Brigadier General Rusdi Hartono.

Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ 182 went down between the Laki and Lancang islands of the Thousand Islands off Jakarta on Saturday, January 9, four minutes after the plane took off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to head to Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

62 passengers and crew, went down with the Boeing 737-500.

Source:

https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/01/30/061205974/families-of-indonesian-victims-in-sriwijaya-air-disaster-sues-boeing?page=all#page2. 

HUMAS BAKAMLA RI The Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) patrol boat nabs two tanker ships that flown the Panamanian and Iranian flags while allegedly transferring illegal fuel in Pontianak waters in West Kalimantan on Sunday, January 24.

Indonesia Denies International Pressure Behind Seizure of Tankers

The Indonesian Maritime Security Agency or Bakamla has denied external factors was behind its decision to seize two foreign motor tankers in waters off Pontianak, West Kalimantan province on Sunday, January 24.

“The seizing of the MT Horse from Iran and the Panama flagged MT Freya was not carried out because of pressure from the international community or the Indonesian [government],” said Bakamla head for the Western Maritime Zone Vice Admiral Hadi Pranoto on Thursday, January 29.

However, the Iranian government disagreed. “Iran has demanded an explanation from Indonesia about Jakarta’s seizure of the [MT Horse],” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh on Monday, January 25, as quoted by the Reuters state news agency.

“We are still trying to determine if [the Horse] committed any criminal or administrative wrongdoing.” The Bakamla patrol vessel KN Marore-322 seized the MT Horse and MT Freya as the two tankers were illegally transferring fuel.

Bakamla spokesman Wisnu Pramandita said the agency will hold the ships for a number of infractions.

They include “illegally transferring fuel, concealing the vessels’ identities, violating the right of transit passage, failing to raise their flags and turning off their automatic identification system [AIS].” “The Freya was even responsible for an oil spill.”

According to the Refinitiv Eikon shipping website, both ships have the capacity to carry over two million barrels of oil.

Source:

https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/01/29/221111574/indonesia-denies-international-pressure-behind-seizure-of-tankers. 

Dok. Instagram A screenshot of a rock believed to be a meteor which hit a house in Lampung province

Meteor Creates A Stir Upon Landing in Lampung Province

Residents of Lampung province’s Lampung Tengah regency received a jolt from the sky, after a rock hit the house of one of the locals.

Footage of the meteor, which hit the house of a woman named Katmini on the night of Thursday, January 28 went viral, as netizens were struck by how the sky fell and left a hole on her roof.

Academics were just as intrigued, among them researchers from the Sumatra Institute of Technology or Itera. “We have come to the site of the incident and took a sample of the rock,” said Robiatul Muztaba, a lecturer in Atmospheric Science on Friday, January 29.

“But we cannot verify just yet if the rock was a meteor, or even if it fell from the sky. We also have to study its natural properties, or whether it has magnetic like many meteorites [and asteroids]. We will also examine whether it has black streaks caused by friction with the Earth’s atmosphere.”

The phenomena comes three days after a similar incident occurred in Bali’s Buleleng Regency on January 24.

Source:

https://regional.kompas.com/read/2021/01/29/19300211/batu-diduga-meteorit-hantam-rumah-warga-ahli-sudah-ambil-sampelnya?page=all#page2.