Indonesia: The operation to recover the bodies of passengers and crew aboard the ill-fated AirAsia flight QZ8501 has begun after the wreckage of the plane was found during an aerial search on Tuesday afternoon.
Indonesian official confirmed debris found floating in the Java Sea on Tuesday is from the missing AirAsia jet, presumed to have crashed in shallow waters off the Indonesian coast. Local media reported the sighting of what is thought to be a bodies floating in the water.
Indonesian TV showed two relatively large objects, one orange and one grey or brown, floating on the surface. The largest appeared to be several meters in length. Indonesian media reported an air force official sighting suspected bodies, life vest, luggage, and plane debris off the west coast of Kalimantan.
Indonesian officials coming off a helicopter in #Pangkalan Bun say they spotted several bodies floating in waters near where the missing AirAsia flight was last seen. The bodies were brought to an Indonesian navy ship.
For the time being it can be confirmed that it’s the AirAsia plane and the transport minister will depart soon to Pangkalan Bun,” Djoko Murjatmodjo, Indonesia’s director general of civil aviation, said AFP.
Tony Fernandes, global #CEO of AirAsia, tweeted that he is heading to Surbaya.
About 30 ships and 21 aircraft from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea were searching up to 10,000 square nautical miles on Tuesday, officials said. The U.S. military said the USS Sampson, a guided missile destroyer, would be on the scene later in the day.
AirAsia has offered families, and some journalists, a flight over the area on Wednesday, at the request of the families. They believe that, while the search and #rescue [agencies] are working hard to try to locate the aircraft, they believe that with their presence, with their praying of the next of kin, that will help the search and rescue team to quickly find and locate the aircraft,” an AirAsia spokesman said.
Bureau Report
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