Indonesia military chief believes fuselage of crashed plane located

Rescue team members prepare to dive near the location of the Lion Air flight JT610 crash during rescue operations off the north coast of Karawang regency, West Java province, Indonesia, October 30, 2018. REUTERS/Beawiharta

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's military chief believes a search and rescue team has found part of the body of a Lion Air plane that crashed into the sea with 189 people on board, he told a television channel on Wednesday.

"We strongly believe that we have found a part of the fuselage of JT610," Hadi Tjahjanto told TV One, referring to the flight operated by the Indonesian budget carrier.

The search team had the location coordinates but now had to confirm it was the fuselage, he added.

A rescue ship is seen near the location of the Lion Air flight JT610 crash during rescue operations off the north coast of Karawang regency, West Java province, Indonesia, October 30, 2018. REUTERS/Beawiharta

Indonesia has deployed "pinger locators" to try to locate the plane's blackboxes, as the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder are known, at the crash site.

"Yesterday afternoon, the team had heard a ping sound in a location at 35 metres depth," Haryo Satmiko, the deputy chief of the national transport safety panel, told Reuters, referring to a depth of 115 feet.

"This morning, at 5 a.m., the team has gone back to dive at the location."

An Indonesian navy soldier is seen after diving at the location of the Lion Air flight JT610 crash off the north coast of Karawang regency, West Java province, Indonesia, October 30, 2018. REUTERS/Beawiharta

(Reporting by Ed Davies and Cindy Silviana; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Rescue workers of crashed Lion Air flight JT610 carry a body bag off a boat at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 30, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su