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Recovery, identification begin
Authorities have said they are now concentrating on efforts to recover all those on board ill-fated AirAsia flight QZ8501 from the waters of the Karimata Strait, which separates Belitung island and Kalimantan, where debris and bodies were discovered on Tuesday
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uthorities have said they are now concentrating on efforts to recover all those on board ill-fated AirAsia flight QZ8501 from the waters of the Karimata Strait, which separates Belitung island and Kalimantan, where debris and bodies were discovered on Tuesday.
As of Tuesday night, the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) had retrieved the bodies of three victims'two female and one male', according to its head, Air Chief Marshall Henry Bambang Soelistyo.
President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has ordered all involved, led by Basarnas, 'to focus first on the recovery of the passengers and crew'.
'And tomorrow morning, with boats and helicopters, conducted on the waters or from the air, there will be a huge search,' said the President, who was earlier flown in a Hercules aircraft to inspect the waters where debris and bodies were discovered. He also visited the AirAsia crisis center at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya.
In view of the bad weather and vast search area, Basarnas is being assisted by the Navy.
'At the location of the debris, there are [the ships] KRI Yos Sudarso, KRI Bung Tomo and the Basarnas ship KN 224. Later tonight, more ships will arrive on location, including KRI Banda Aceh, three Singaporean ships, KRI Pulau Romang and KRI Pulau Rengat,' Bambang said.
Moreover, sonar-equipped ships from the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) and the Indonesian Survey Association (ASI) are scheduled to arrive at the location at 10 a.m. on Wednesday to search for the bulk of the airplane's wreckage, according to Bambang.
Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Moeldoko said that the military would deploy a number of ships to supply goods such as fuel to the search and rescue group, as well as helicopters to lift bodies from the sea onto the ships.
The Navy also has 47 divers on location, 11 of whom were deployed on Tuesday to help Basarnas' own 10-strong team.
About 30 ships and 21 aircraft from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and the United States have been involved in the search. Reuters reported the US military as saying that the USS Sampson, a guided missile destroyer, would be on the scene later on Tuesday, 'ready to assist in any way possible'.
Bodies and remains of the airplane will be transported to Pangkalan Bun in Central Kalimantan.
'We have prepared coffins there. Subsequently, the bodies will be transported using Hercules aircraft to Surabaya. Our personnel in Surabaya are ready to transport [the bodies] to hospital. There, the bodies will be identified and transferred to families,' Moeldoko said.
The National Police's disaster-victim identification (DVI) team is currently working fast to collect DNA samples from relatives of the victims, both Indonesian and foreign, to expedite the identification process of those bodies that have been recovered.
'As soon as possible we will complete the process of collecting the samples,' National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto said.
Agus revealed that the transferral of the bodies of foreign victims would be implemented according to any agreement existing between the family and the respective government.
AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes said it was 'a very difficult moment for all of us at AirAsia as we await further developments of the search and rescue operations, but our first priority now is the wellbeing of the family members of those onboard QZ8501'.
