Inp.polri.go.id - Makassar. The Indonesian National Police (INP)’s Medical and Health Center has deployed a specialized Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team to identify victims of the ATR 42-500 crash on Mount Bulusaraung, South Sulawesi. 

Following international protocols, forensic experts are currently conducting post-mortem examinations at the Bhayangkara Hospital in Makassar to ensure clinical accuracy before returning remains to grieving families.

"Precision is our absolute priority over speed to ensure no errors occur during the identification process," said Brigadier General Dr. Nyoman Eddy Purnama, the Head of the Police Medical Bureau on Tuesday evening (20/1/2026), as reported by antaranews.com.

The DVI team has already collected ante-mortem data from ten family members to facilitate reconciliation with physical evidence. As of Tuesday night, one male and one female  bodies have been recovered from the crash site. 

Search and rescue operations continue for the remaining eight passengers listed on the Indonesia Air Transport manifest. Authorities confirmed that while a female victim has been received, forensic matching is required to distinguish between the two female crew members aboard the ill-fated flight.

(mg/inp/pr/rs)