AS rescuers pulled the seventh body from the AirAsia crash site, fears bad weather could shift other victims’ bodies to the shores of Borneo have forced rescue teams to man the coastline.
Strong waves had shifted bodies further east and they could be drifting towards the Kalimantan shores, of Borneo.
Indonesian Air Vice-Marshall Sunarbowo Sandi, mission coordinator of the search and rescue operations said Indonesian police and Armed Forces (TNI) ships had been deployed to wait by the coastline, the Straits Times reports.
His warning comes as soldiers acting as pall bearers carried coffins containing the first two bodies from AirAsia Flight QZ8501 into Indonesia’s Surabaya airport, from which the ill-fated plane departed.
The bodies were taken from an air force plane to a military ambulance to be transported to a hospital for examination and identification - but many exhausted families were left waiting for news as bad weather hampered search efforts.
Royal Malaysian Navy search and rescue crews retrieving a victim from AirAsia flight QZ8501 during their search and rescue operations in Indonesia's Java Sea. Source: AFP
Simple wooden coffins - numbered 001 and 002 - with purple flowers on top contained the first two bodies, which were sent from Pangkalan Bun to Surabaya for autopsies. The two victims were a woman wearing blue jeans and a boy. The other five bodies - three male and two female - will remain on a warship until the weather clears.
Officials had hoped to recover most of the bodies but rough conditions made it difficult for helicopters to fly over the area in the Java Sea where several corpses and debris from the Airbus A320-200 were found a day earlier.
“I continue to be humbled and touched by the incredible efforts and professionalism put forth by BASARNAS, Army, Navy, Air Force and Police of Indonesia,” said Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia, in its latest statement.
“The search and rescue operations were unfortunately hampered by bad weather today but I am hopeful they will be able to resume the search tomorrow.”
Indonesian Air Force Boeing 737 AI-7302 lands carrying two victims of the AirAsia flight QZ8501 crash at Indonesian Military Base Operation airport. Picture: Robertus Pudyanto Source: Getty Images
Indonesian soldiers carry coffins containing victims of the AirAsia flight QZ8501 crash at the Indonesian Air Force Military Base Operation Airport. Picture: Robertus Pudyanto Source: Getty Images
No comments:
Post a Comment