Sea bed sonar image believed to be that of missing AirAsia plane
Sea bed sonar image believed to be that of missing AirAsia plane
A sonar image showing a large, dark object on the sea bed is believed to be a missing AirAsia plane, an official with Indonesia's search and rescue agency said on Wednesday after bodies and debris were found in the area.
Ships and planes have been scouring the Java Sea for Flight QZ8501 since Sunday, when it vanished with 162 people on board during bad weather about 40 minutes into its flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
Indonesian rescuers have recovered various bits of debris, including luggage, and seven bodies floating in shallow waters off Borneo.
"It's about 30 to 50 metres (100 to 165 feet) underwater," Hernanto, an official with the search and rescue agency, said of the sonar image.
Authorities in Surabaya were making preparations to receive and identify bodies, including arranging 130 ambulances to take the victims to a police hospital and collecting DNA from relatives.
"We are praying it is the plane so the evacuation can be done quickly," Hernanto said.
Most of the people on board were Indonesians. No survivors have been found.
Officials said waves two to three metres (six to nine feet) high and winds were hampering the hunt for wreckage and preventing divers from searching the crash zone.
Among the bodies found on Wednesday was a flight attendant.
The fully clothed bodies could indicate the Airbus A320-200 was intact when it hit the water and support a theory that it suffered an aerodynamic stall.
"The fact that the debris appears fairly contained suggests the aircraft broke up when it hit the water, rather than in the air," said Neil Hansford, a former pilot and chairman of consultancy firm Strategic Aviation Solutions.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said his priority was retrieving the bodies.
"I feel a deep loss over this disaster and pray for the families to be given fortitude and strength," Widodo said in Surabaya on Tuesday after grim images of the scene in the Java Sea were broadcast on television.
Widodo said AirAsia would pay an immediate advance of money to relatives, many of whom collapsed in grief when they saw the television pictures from the search.
AirAsia Chief Executive Tony Fernandes has described the crash as his "worst nightmare".
About 30 ships and 21 aircraft from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and the United States have been involved in the search.
Singapore said it was sending two underwater beacon detectors to try to pick up pings from the black boxes, which contain cockpit voice and flight data recorders.