It has been a week since AirAsia QZ8501 lost contact with air traffic controllers with 162 people on board. Two big objects, believed to be the main wreckage of the plane have been detected.
9.05PM: Commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces General Moeldoko confirms that the number of bodies found remains at 30, while 4 have been identified. He hopes the search process ahead will be faster.
8.25PM: Indonesia's search and rescue agency BASARNAS has been leading the search effort. We find out more about the agency that has been at the centre of the search operations in Indonesia.
7.53PM: Channel NewsAsia's Lam Shushan is on board the RSS Persistence and gives a glimpse of the rough sea conditions recovery teams are facing.
6.00PM: In response to media queries, Changi Airport Group (CAG) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) confirm that AirAsia Indonesia had approval to run daily flights from Surabaya to Singapore, even though the airline had flown on Sundays without authorisation from Indonesian authorities.
CAAS and CAG say the approval was based on air traffic rights under an air services agreement and available slots at Changi Airport. The airline was plying the route four times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Airlines need to get approval for flight schedules by civil aviation authorities at each end, separately, CAAS and CAG say.
4.49PM: Of 162 passengers and crew on board, almost a fifth have been found. 12 more bodies will be sent to Surabaya for identification soon, Devianti Faridz reports.
4.18PM: Russian authorities speak to the media after the arrival of the BE-200. The aircraft is equipped with instruments that can detect small debris on the surface and the bottom of the sea. The plane is also equipped with a special sonar and acoustic system which can detect beacons from the black box.
The Russians will also deploy 22 of its deep water divers, and a submersible vehicle weighing 500kg. The submersible vehicle will be able to operate under strong currents and high waves, they said.
4.06PM: A Disaster Victim Identification team comprising six officers from the Singapore Police Force and two forensic experts from the Health Sciences Authority left earlier today for Surabaya to assist Indonesia in identifying victims.
4.04PM: A Russian amphibious plane - a BE-200 - which is designed for search and rescue and maritime patrol, has arrived in Pangkalan Bun to help in the search, reports Xabryna Kek.
3.50PM: Two more passengers - Hendra Gunawan Syawal and The Meiji Thejakusuma - have been identified.
AirAsia Indonesia has also confirmed that its Surabaya-Singapore route has been suspended at the government's request. The government is investigating and evaluating, and AirAsia has said it will fully cooperate, reports Channel NewAsia's Sumisha Naidu.
2.15PM: About 60 ships and 20 aircraft are involved in the search for QZ8501 debris and bodies today. A Russian amphibious plane will join the operation. The following map is from Malaysia's Chief of Navy.
1.30PM: 12 bodies are leaving Pangkalan Bun for Surabaya - eight were flown in today, four from yesterday. Nine of the bodies are male, three female.
Each coffin is topped with a bouquet and respectfully handled by armed forces and medical personnel.
1.25PM: The health minister in Surabaya told a news conference at the crisis centre that forensics teams from across Indonesia are trying to identify the bodies retrieved so far from QZ8501, but only some are undergoing autopsies as some families have declined, citing religious or cultural reasons. The pilot and co-pilot's bodies will undergo autopsies.
1.00PM: A transportation safety investigator says conflicting signals from too many ships may make the search for the QZ8501 black box harder, reports Channel NewsAsia's Sumisha Naidu.
Separately, the CEO of AirAsia Indonesia Sunu Widyatmoko declined to comment on the announced discovery of the wreckage of QZ8501.
12.30PM: The strong current is making it difficult to control the remotely operated vehicle, lowered underwater to probe QZ8501 main wreckage find. The large objects detected measure 9.2m x 4.6m x 0.5m and 7.2m by 0.5m reports Detik.
11.55AM: 7 bodies from QZ8501 have arrived at Pangkalan Bun airport. One more is on its way from a Malaysian ship, flown in by a Super Puma helicopter. Channel NewsAsia's Xabryna Kek who is on the scene says there appears to be debris being shifted from the choppers as well.
11.14AM: Relatives of people on board QZ8501 are asking AirAsia staff why they had to find out about the main wreckage discovery via television, Channel NewsAsia's Sumisha Naidu reports.
10.45AM: BREAKTHROUGH? The main wreckage of QZ8501 has been found, says the chief of Indonesia's search and rescue agency BASARNAS. Speaking in Jakarta, he said two big parts have been found at the bottom of the sea near Pangkalan Bun. The wreckage is lying at a depth of 30 metres. Oil spills have also been detected in the area. Search teams are currently deploying remotely operated vehicles to take a closer look at the wreckage before sending divers. High waves and strong current are still hampering search efforts.
10.13AM: The United States Navy's USS Fort Worth is expected to join the USS Sampson in the QZ8501 search area today. It left Singapore yesterday.
9.37AM: Spotted at the Pangkalan Bun airport - a reminder why hundreds from several countries are braving high winds and rough seas, combing the QZ8501 search site. A fifth of the people listed here have been found. (Photo: Yassin)
9.09AM: The most probable cause of the AirAsia QZ8501 crash is icing in the cloud that damaged the plane engine, said the Indonesian Agency for Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysics in a 14-page report.
8.58AM: Late Friday, Indonesia's Transport Ministry announced it has suspended AirAsia's Surabaya-Singapore route for a violation of an agreement. AirAsia Indonesia is only allowed to ply that route on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, but had done so on Sundays as well. The crashed flight had departed last Sunday (Dec 28).
Affected passengers will have to be redirected via another flight, the ministry said.
8.40AM: The search for bodies and debris has been repeatedly hampered by bad weather over the week and today is no different. Recovery teams are encountering rough seas with waves of up to 4 metres, and winds of 20 to 30 knots, Malaysia's Chief of Navy Abdul Aziz Jaafar said on Twitter.
8.10AM: The underwater search area as of Saturday measures 57 by 10 nautical miles, tweets Malaysia's Chief of Navy.
8.10AM: The underwater search area as of Saturday measures 57 by 10 nautical miles, tweets Malaysia's Chief of Navy.
8AM: A recap of what happened on Friday - 30 bodies have been retrieved so far; 65 ships, 14 planes and 19 helicopters have been deployed in a multinational search operation. The tail of the plane has been spotted at a depth of 29 metres said the commander of the Indonesian navy ship Bung Tomo.
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