Rescuers find 4 large objects in AirAsia crash area

Rescuers have found four large objects in the area of a search for the wreck of a Malaysian AirAsia plane off Indonesia, Indonesia’s Search and Rescue Agency Chief Bambang Soelistyo said on Saturday.
On December 28, an AirAsia airliner A320-200 disappeared from radar screens about 40 minutes after its departure from Indonesia to Singapore, presumably crashing in the area of Kalimantan (Borneo) Island. The jet was carrying 155 passengers and seven crewmembers.

According to Soelistyo, the largest piece found by the rescuers is 18 meters long and 5.4 meters wide, adding that “the fragments are located at a depth of 30 meters. ‘The rescuers, however, have failed to find the black boxes so far,” he said.

Earlier on Saturday, the rescuers found two large pieces of the crashed plane’s debris at a depth of 30 meters in the Java Sea.

The objects were lying not far from the settlement of Pangkalan Bun in the central part of Kalimantan Island. Meanwhile, an oil slick was noticed in the same area.
 [itar-tass.com]
3/1/15
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• Wreckage of Air Asia plane supposedly found in Java Sea (Indonesian rescuers) 

• AirAsia QZ8501 underwater search to begin ...

Wreckage of Air Asia plane supposedly found in Java Sea (Indonesian rescuers)

Rescuers have found what supposedly is the fuselage of the AirAsia plane that went missing on December 28 on the Java Sea bottom, a spokesman for the National Search and Rescue Agency of Indonesia said on Wednesday.
According to the agency, sonar sea bottom images have shown a large dark object resembling a plane fuselage by its shape. It is supposedly lying at a depth of 25 - 30 metres. However, the image does not clearly show what damage the plane got and if its body is preserved.
Earlier Wednesday, rescuers retrieved the bodies of 3 plane passengers. Thus, the number of the found bodies has increased to 6.

The search and rescue efforts are complicated by strong waves and wind. Some types of equipment, helicopters, in particular, cannot be used on the search due to the bad weather. A multi-nation search effort was launched when the plane lost radar contact with Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and the United States sending ships and planes along with other equipment. China, India and South Korea as well as New Zealand also offered help.

The AirAsia Airbus 320-200 airliner with 155 passengers and 7 crew members onboard disappeared from radars last Sunday (December 28) in the area of the Kalimantan (Borneo) Island some 40 minutes after departure from Indonesia for Singapore.   http://itar-tass.com/en/world/770118
   31/12/14
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• Recovery of bodies, debris of AirAsia flight underway (Indonesia)

• AirAsia QZ8501: 'Six bodies' found in missing plane search ... 

• LIVE BLOG: AirAsia flight QZ8501 day 4

7.30PM: Here's what we know about the two bodies brought to Surabaya - one of them is that of a 1.6 metres-tall woman, and the other is that of a boy, who is 1.4 metres.

7.00PM: Crew on Malaysia's navy ships have helped retrieve four bodies at the QZ8501 debris site, the Malaysian Chief of Navy tweeted. The bodies were brought on board the Royal Malaysian Navy's KD Pahang and KD Lekir.................................http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/live-blog-airasia-flight/1559418.html

Recovery of bodies, debris of AirAsia flight underway (Indonesia)

More than 40 bodies have been recovered by an Indonesian Navy ship as crews worked to mark debris and retrieve swollen corpses floating in the Java Sea from AirAsia Flight QZ8501 that went missing Sunday, Indonesian officials said Tuesday (Dec 30).

"Based on the navy radio, it has been reported that the warship Bung Tomo has retrieved 40 bodies and the number is growing. They are very busy now," Manahan Simorangkir, a Indonesian Navy spokesman told AFP.

Earlier, Indonesia's rescue agency detailed the discovery of debris from the passenger jet and a related sighting of the suspected aircraft on the sea floor.

"At 13:25 ... we spotted a floating object believed to be one of the passengers' bodies," BASARNAS, Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency, Air Chief Marshal FH Bambang Soelistyo told a press conference earlier....................http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/indonesia-rescue-agency/1558094.html
30/12/14
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• Bodies and debris seen by teams searching for missing AirAsia plane ...

• Indonesian Rescue Workers Recover More Than 40 AirAsia Victims ...

US Navy sends ship to assist AirAsia flight searching

The United States has sent a destroyer to the Java Sea to assist in searching for a missing AirAsia jetliner, US officials said Monday.

The USS Sampson was expected to arrive Tuesday in the search zone for Flight QZ8501, which lost contact on Sunday with 162 people on board.

"The US Navy is working closely with the government of Indonesia to identify additional surface or airborne capabilities that best assist their search efforts," the Navy's 7th Fleet said in a statement.

The State Department earlier said that the help was at the request of the Indonesian government.

"Our embassy in Jakarta is in close contact with Indonesian officials, and today, we received a request for assistance locating the airplane," said Jeffrey Rathke, a State Department spokesman.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said the assistance "could include air, surface and sub-surface detection capabilities."

Indonesia, Malaysia and several other countries are searching for the missing plane, which went missing en route from Surabaya in Indonesia's east Java to Singapore after the pilots requested a change of flight plan in a stormy weather.
  Source: Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
30/12/14
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Related:

• Indonesian officials say they are sending teams to investigate reports of smoke on an island in the area where AirAsia flight QZ8501 has gone missing.... 

• AirAsia plane likely at sea bottom (Indonesia search chief)

AirAsia plane likely at sea bottom (Indonesia search chief)

The AirAsia plane with 162 people on board may have fallen into the bottom of the sea, 24 hours after the jetliner vanished from radar en route from Indonesia to Singapore, said Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency chief in Jakarta Monday.

"We assume the missing jet at the bottom of the sea based on the coordinates given to us and evaluation that the estimated crash position is in the sea," Bambang Soelistyo told the media at the Soekarno-Hatta main airport.

It can be expanded based on evaluation, he noted.

Should the projection be true, Indonesia needs to cooperate with other countries to bring the wreckage to the surface, Soelistyo said.

"We still do not have the equipment, we will borrow the devices from other countries," he said.

The official warned that the current may cause the wreckage of the plane to move.
  Xinhua - china.org.cn
  29/12/14
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• AirAsia QZ8501: Indonesia plane search resumes ... 

• Flight From Indonesia to Singapore Loses Contact 

Flight From Indonesia to Singapore Loses Contact

An AirAsia flight with 162 passengers and crew on board has lost contact with air traffic control.

The flight by the low-cost airline had left the Indonesian city of Surabaya heading to Singapore when it disappeared at 7:24 a.m. Sunday, local time - 42 minutes into its flight.

Officials say the pilot had request a "deviation" from its flight plan to avoid bad weather.

An updated airline statement says the Airbus A320-200 had 157 Indonesian passengers and crew onboard, along with three South Koreans and one person each from Singapore and Malaysia. The crew of seven were all Indonesians.

The airline says search and rescue operations are under way and the company is assisting the rescue service.
 http://www.voanews.com/content/asia-missing-plane/2576242.html
28/12/14
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