Strong currents and tides have shifted a major part of the crashed Singaporean SilkAir jetliner and have hampered efforts to retrieve the wreckage.

The Boeing 737-300 crashed over Sumatra midway on a flight to Singapore from Jakarta on Friday with the feared loss of all 104 passengers and crew.

The plane is stuck in mud near the Musi river close to Palembang in Indonesia.

Officials in charge of the rescue operation said they had located a major chunk of the fuselage of the plane on Saturday but strong currents and tides, washing in from the sea, have since shifted the wreckage.

The 104 people on the Singapore SilkAir plane that crashed on Friday are probably still inside the wreckage of the airliner, rescuers workers have said.

The rescue teams plans to hoist the fuselage free to get to the 97 passengers and seven crew, whom they believe remain strapped into their seats.

Silkair spokesman Gerry Stevens: wreckage discovered (1'58")

Witnesses to the crash said they heard a loud bang before the plane fell to earth.

Divers who are searching the murky waters of the Musi said no-one has been found alive so far and the chance of survivors are remote.

They are being watched by families of the passengers who hired speedboats to travel to the scene of the plane's impact.

Cause still unclear

Singapore's Communications Minister, Mah Bow Tan, said: "We don't have any information on what transpired.

"As far as we know there were no adverse weather conditions."

The black box recorder, which often contains vital information as to the cause of air disasters, has not yet been recovered.

Witness heard a loud bang from the sky

SilkAir has released a list of passenger names flying on the airliner.

Passengers included 40 Singaporeans, 23 Indonesians, 10 Malaysians, five Americans, five French, four Germans and three Britons.

There were also two Japanese, a Bosnian, an Austrian, an Indian a Taiwanese and an Australian.

Relatives have been flown to Palmebang to wait for news

A spokesman from SilkAir, Gerry Stevens, said: "According to reports, the rescue team on site has found debris, including part of a wing tip, part of a rudder and bodies both on the land and a river in the area spread over a number of nautical miles. I can confirm so far that no survivors have been found."

The search and rescue operations are being assisted by more than 200 personnel from the Singapore Airports and Navy. A team of investigators from the United States is on its way to Indonesia and expected to arrive on Sunday.

Mr Stevens said: "On behalf of SilkAir I express our deep regret over this tragic accident and I would assure everyone that all possible is being done to trace the passengers and crew on the aircraft.

"The investigation teams will come up with their results as soon as possible. I have heard reports that an explosion occurred but its impossible to say at this stage why that might have been or if it did indeed happen."

A diver carries on searching

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said they lost radio contact with the flight at 5.15pm Singapore time (0915 GMT).

The plane was identified as the missing SilkAir aircraft at 9.40pm (1340 GMT).

SilkAir is a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines and flies mostly south-east Asian routes.

The plane was the newest in the airline's fleet and only came into service 10 months ago.
 

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