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Jakarta Post

Families of AirAsia passengers invited to visit crash scene

Indonesian Military (TNI) Chief Gen

Indra Harsaputra and Kusumasari Ayuningtyas (The Jakarta Post)
Surabaya/Klaten, Central Java
Tue, January 6, 2015 Published on Jan. 6, 2015 Published on 2015-01-06T09:58:48+07:00

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I

ndonesian Military (TNI) Chief Gen. Moeldoko has invited the families of deceased AirAsia passengers to observe in situ the operation to recover victims and aircraft wreckage from the waters of the Karimata Strait.

Moeldoko extended the invitation as he visited relatives of the victims at the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) unit at East Java Police headquarters on Monday.

'€œWe convey the offer from the humanitarian aspect. Should relatives of the deceased wish, the TNI commander-in-chief will provide a Hercules plane to fly from Surabaya to Pangkalan Bun [Central Kalimantan], from where they will be brought to the search location by naval vessel,'€ Moeldoko told the media.

He revealed that all relatives had immediately responded to the invitation. A list of those wishing to visit the site is currently being compiled.

The TNI will provide a Hercules C 130 and a CN 295 aircraft to carry the victims'€™ relatives from Juanda Airport in Surabaya to Pangkalan Bun, from where they will board a warship to the search location.

'€œBesides watching the search process, the families will also be invited to scatter flowers around the point believed to be where the AirAsia QZ8501 jetliner came down,'€ said Moeldoko.

The plane crashed into the Java Sea on Dec. 28 along with 155 passengers and seven crewmembers.

Moeldoko said that TNI soldiers were continuing to make strenuous efforts to recover the victims in the face of bad weather.

'€œWe won'€™t give up, despite the rain and storms. Our soldiers have even risked their lives in the line of duty. You can trust the TNI and the international community, which has joined the TNI in the mission,'€ said Moeldoko.

Separately, National Police chief Gen. Sutarman asserted that police would be able to identify all recovered bodies and hand them over to their families without delay.

'€œWe will identify all the victims in whatever condition and we will immediately hand them over to their families, but obviously we need time to identify them,'€ said Sutarman.

He added that the DVI team was equipped with dental samples and ante mortem data of all passengers and crewmembers.

'€œWe have 260 specialists involved in the identification process. They are assisted by experts from other countries who have joined to accelerate the body-identification process,'€ said Sutarman.

Meanwhile, one crash victim, AirAsia flight attendant Wismoyo Ari Prambudi, was buried on Monday. The funeral, which was held at his parents'€™ house in Klaten regency, Central Java, was attended by AirAsia officials including Dato'€™ Kamaruddin Meranu and local administrative officials.

Dato'€™ Kamaruddin expressed his condolences in front of hundreds of mourners at the house in Jetak village, Bareng Lor, North Klaten district, Klaten.

'€œI, representing 15,000 AirAsia employees in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, India and other countries, am very saddened by his departure. The deceased meant a lot to us,'€ said Kamaruddin.

He went on to say that Wismoyo was a cheerful, well-loved young man, before calling for prayers for the five AirAsia crewmembers whose bodies have yet to be found.

Wismoyo'€™s identity was announced by the DVFI team on Sunday afternoon. His body was immediately airlifted to Klaten and arrived at 8 p.m. local time. Many mourners had already gathered at the family'€™s home to conduct prayers.

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