AirAsia QZ8501 wreckage at bottom of sea, bad weather hampers recovery

Last updated on: December 31, 2014 13:45 IST

Searchers using sonar equipment on Wednesday located the wreckage of the ill-fated AirAsia plane carrying 162 people at the bottom of the JavaSea off Indonesia, even as bad weather hampered the recovery of many bloated bodies seen floating around the crash site.

Searchers using sonar equipment have located wreckage from AirAsia flight QZ8501 at the bottom of the JavaSea, an Indonesian search and rescue official said.

Indonesian Search and Rescue crews unload one of two bodies of AirAsia passengers recovered from the sea, at the airport in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan. Photograph: Darren Whiteside/ Reuters

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,” the official with the search and rescue agency, said of the sonar image.

At the moment, they still do not know if it is in one piece or broken up, the official was quoted as saying by CNN.

Relatives of AirAsia QZ 8501 victims take part the identification process at the DVI Center in Juanda International Airport. Photograph: Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images

Nearly three days after the Airbus A320-200 went off the radar; its debris was found on Tuesday in the KarimataStrait near Pangkalanbun, Central Kalimantan.

Divers were to be deployed to search for bodies and for the plane's ‘black box’ flight recorders but officials said heavy rain, strong winds and waves of up to three metres had forced them to suspend the operation.

At least seven bodies have been retrieved from the sea till now. Three bodies, two female and one male, were recovered on Tuesday while four more were pulled out on Wednesday.

Relatives of passengers on AirAsia flight QZ 8501 react to the news of debris and bodies being found. Photograph: Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images

One of the bodies pulled out on Tuesday was dressed in air stewardess uniform, said Bambang Soelistyo, chief of Indonesia's search and rescue agency Basarnas.

Many bodies were seen floating in the sea by the rescuers and efforts were being made to retrieve them, officials said.

However, the efforts to locate victims and wreckage of the plane were hampered by stormy weather and strong tides.

Divers were to be deployed to search for bodies and for the plane’s black box flight recorders but officials said heavy rain, strong winds and waves of up to 3 metres had forced them to suspend the air operation, though ships already in place were continuing the search.

"We are in a wait and see. Weather is bad currently. High tides and heavy rains. Every element is now in their position ready to make a move when weather improves," Soelistyo said.

"As soon as the weather is clear, the bodies will be brought to Pangkalan Bun," he said.

Indonesian officials on Tuesday confirmed that remains and debris found in the waters off Borneo are from the AirAsia plane. 

An Indonesian Navy airman prays on his plane before searching the waters near Bangka Island for debris from AirAsia Flight QZ8501 in a navy air patrol craft near Bangka Island, Indonesia. Photograph: Ed Wray/Getty Images

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has promised a “massive search by the ships and helicopters” with the focus on recovering the bodies of victims. Widodo has inspected the crash location from the C-130 Hercules aircraft.

“I feel the loss from this tragedy and we all pray for the families to be given fortitude and strength,” he said, speaking in Surabaya, from where the plane had taken off on Sunday morning for Singapore.

Indonesian officials on Tuesday confirmed that remains and debris found in the waters off Borneo are from the AirAsiaplane that took off from Surabaya for Singapore.

Relatives of the 162 people on board the ill-fated plane hugged each other and burst into tears on Tuesday as they watched television footage of bodies floating in the sea.

A member of the search team looks out over the waters of the Java Sea near Pangkalan Bun, Kalimantan . Photograph: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

The plane was carrying 155 passengers -- one British, one Malaysian, one Singaporean, three South Koreans, 149 Indonesians -- and seven crew members -- six Indonesians and a French co-pilot.

Seventeen of the passengers were children. There were no Indian nationals on board.

The mystery still remains over why the plane lost contact with air traffic control and what happened afterwards.

Families of people aboard AirAsia plane have been briefed by officials that sonar technology has "spotted the plane on sea floor," a relative of some of the passengers said.