Widodo promises compensation for plane crash

Indonesia's leader on Wednesday assured relatives of 62 people killed in a Sriwijaya Air plane crash that they will be compensated. President Joko Widodo was speaking as he visited the command center at Jakarta's international container terminal where tons of plane debris hauled by divers from the sea floor have been recovered by divers.

The Boeing 737-500 crashed into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff from Jakarta on Jan. 9. Widodo witnessed the first three relatives of the victims receiving money from the compensation fund. Sriwijaya Air offered relatives an insurance payout of 1.25 billion rupiah ($89,100), in line with Indonesian law that stipulates compensation must be offered within 60 days of a crash.

In addition, state-owned insurance company Jasa Raharja has provided 50 million rupiah ($3,560) to each family of the victims. A search is still ongoing for the crucial memory unit of the cockpit voice recorder.

Image: AP