Bodies and debris found in sea believed as Air Asia missing plane
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| An unidentified object is seen floating in the ocean off the coast of Pangkalan Bun, Borneo in Indonesia on Tuesday. |
The bodies and wreckage were located in the Java Sea, off Indonesia’s Kalimantan Coast on Borneo Island, around 10 kilometres from where Flight QZ8501 made its last communication with air traffic control.
About 40 bodies spotted from a helicopter in Pangkalan Bun have been taken to an Indonesian navy ship. Pictures of floating bodies were broadcast on television and relatives of the missing gathered at the crisis centre in Surabaya were shown weeping, their heads in their hands.
Indonesia’s director-general of civil aviation, Djoko Murjatmodjo, said “for the time being, it can be confirmed that it’s the AirAsia plane”. The debris are at a depth of up to 30 metres, which will make it possible for scuba divers to reach the wreckage.
Meanwhile, the head of the search and rescue mission, Sulistyo told a news conference: “We are now officially announcing that on the third day of the search, we found the debris.”
Indonesian TV showed a searcher being lowered on a winch from a helicopter to where a bloated body floated on the waves.
Relatives of the 162 missing hugged each other and burst into tears in Surabaya as they watched footage of one body floating in the sea on a television feed of Soelistyo's press conference.
An Indonesian warship had recovered more than 40 bodies from the sea "and the number is growing", navy spokesman Manahan Simorangkir told AFP shortly afterwards.
