A large flotilla ships has gathered around the crash site, as Indonesian navy divers undertake the gruelling task of collecting the remains of the victims.

Officials from the search and rescue team, say the task is being made difficult by low visibility and the murky water of the river estuary where the plane came down. They say they'll need to use special lifting equipment to raise the reckage from the water, in order to recover many of the bodies.

There is now almost no hope that anyone could have survived the accident. The authorities here are baffled by what might have caused the Silk Air Boeing 737, to fall out of the sky in the middle of its flight from Jakarta to Singapore. Air traffic controllers say the pilot issued no distress call and weather conditions at the time were reported to be fine.

Local residents have reported seeing the plane explode in mid air. The aircraft was delivered to Silk air, only 10 months ago and was the newest in its fleet. Relatives of the victims who have endured a harrowing night at Singpore's Changi Airport, have been flow to the city of Palembang near the crash site.