Weather conditions hampering the search for AirAsia QZ8501
Search operations on board the RSS Persistence - one of a clutch of vessels sent by the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) to assist in the search for the wreckage of AirAsia flight QZ8501 - have been hampered by worsening sea conditions. An unmanned underwater search craft has also not been deployed due to the rough seas.
A Super Puma helicopter flight scheduled to take off at 8am on Friday (Jan 2) was put on hold due to weather conditions. The area saw strong winds and heavy rain from 7am to 9am, with visibility so poor that ships had to sound their horns every two minutes to ensure there were no collisions out at sea.
"We just try": QZ8501 search teams persevere in rough weather
Local teams involved in the search efforts for the ill-fated Air Asia QZ8501 flight that crashed into the Java Sea are determined to continue with the operation regardless of the weather, officials told Channel NewsAsia on Friday (Jan 2).
Chief Engineer of police ship KP Punai, Rangga Mahardhika, said he believes that they will be able to find more bodies. On a day with good weather, his vessel can venture as far as 80 to 100 nautical miles away from Kumai Harbour, within 10 hours.
Even though the search operations are currently facing rough waters where waves reached as high as 5 metres on Friday, he is not giving up: "We just try. We try to find the people and rescue them."
The Indonesian navy is satisfied with the progress that has been made - a total of 30 bodies have been found since the crash on Sunday.
"Please be patient, we will be searching and searching until we find them," said Captain Ahmad.
QZ8501: Recovered bodies prepared before being sent to Surabaya
Recovered bodies and debris from AirAsia Flight QZ8501 have been sent to Pangkalan Bun in southwest Kalimantan, where they have been prepared and then flown to Surabaya in East Java.
When the bodies arrive at the Iskandar Airport they will be transferred to the Imanudin Hospital at Pangkalan Bun about 10 minutes away. Here, the bodies are prepared to be flown to Surabaya.
It is understood that the bodies will not be cleaned, nor any treatment done, for fear it may interfere with the disaster victims identification process when the bodies are finally in Surabaya.
The bodies will also not be identified at the Imanudin Hospital. They will be placed and secured into coffins to ensure there is no leakage during the flight to Surabaya.
Officials had initially wanted to store the bodies in freezer containers even for the short time that they are at Pangkalan Bun, but unfortunately they could not find any freezer containers here.
When the bodies reach Surabaya, teams will be ready to start the identification process.
Anxious wait for families as bodies of QZ8501 crash victims are identifiedAs hours turn into days for the families of the AirAsia flight QZ8501 crash victims in Surabaya, bad news is better than none.
Slowly, bodies are being brought to Surabaya and identified, and families are wondering whether their loved ones will be the next to arrive.
It is a difficult wait for them and other families here but many have no time for anger. Some have found solace in prayer, hoping divine intervention will bring them closer to closure.
Police have asked family members to provide them with more information - anything that will help them quicken the Identification of the bodies retrieved from the Java Sea - where authorities suspect that the missing AirAsia flight had crashed.
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