Indonesia’s search for AirAsia crash victims could end in days
Indonesia’s search for dozens of victims still unaccounted for in last month’s AirAsia jet crash could end within days if no more bodies are found, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
The Airbus A320 vanished from radar screens in bad weather over the Java Sea on Dec 28, less than half-way into a two-hour flight from Surabaya, Indonesia’s second biggest city.
There were 162 people on board on board the Singapore-bound flight.
Indonesia’s civilian National Search and Rescue Agency said personnel would scour the sea for bodies for at least another week.
Agency chief Fransiskus Bambang Soelistyo told reporters:
“Within one week we will evaluate (our search) depending on the result.
“If we can find one or two more bodies, that means we have the opportunity to prolong the operation.”
The military withdrew from the search yesterday (Jan 27), apologising to the victims’ families for not being able to do more after a month of work.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation will release an interim report on the investigation into the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on March 7, a day before the one-year anniversary of the disappearance.
Deputy transport minister Aziz Kaprawi said today: “It will have details on the technical investigation.”
Photos: AFP, Reuters
This is to abide by a requirement from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for Malaysia to release an interim report on the anniversary of the incident, he added.
The flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing had 239 passengers and crew when it went missing on March 8.
The findings of an international investigation team set up in April 2014 will also be included in the report. - Reuters
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Related report:
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now