Indonesia search and rescue teams hunting for the wreck of an AirAsia Flight QZ 8501 passenger jet have located two “big objects” in the Java Sea, agency chief Fransiskus Bambang Soelistyo told reporters on Saturday.
The two objects are around 30 metres (90 feet) underwater and the agency is attempting to get images using remotely operated underwater vehicles, Soelistyo added.
An Indonesia AirAsia Airbus A320-200 plunged into the Java Sea on Sunday while en route from Indonesia’s second-biggest city Surabaya to Singapore with 162 people on board. No survivors have been found.
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After nearly a week of searching for the victims of AirAsia QZ Flight 8501, rescue teams battling monsoon rains had their most successful day yet, more than tripling the number of bodies pulled from the Java Sea, some still strapped to their seats.
Of the 30 corpses recovered so far, 21 were found on yesterday, many of them by a US Navy ship, according to officials.
The Airbus A320 carrying 162 passengers and crew went down Sunday, halfway into a flight from Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, to Singapore.
Minutes before losing contact, the pilot told air traffic control he was approaching threatening clouds, but was denied permission to climb to a higher altitude because of heavy air traffic.
Check out the Airasia flight QZ8501 announcements on Twitter timeline:
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It remains unclear what caused the plane to plunge into the sea. The accident was AirAsia’s first since it began operations in 2001, quickly becoming one of the region’s most popular low-cost carriers.
Minutes before losing contact, the pilot told air traffic control he was approaching threatening clouds, but was denied permission to climb to a higher altitude because of heavy air traffic.
It remains unclear what caused the plane to plunge into the sea. The accident was AirAsia’s first since it began operations in 2001, quickly becoming one of the region’s most popular low-cost carriers.
Indonesian authorities today grounded AirAsia flights from Surabaya to Singapore, with the Transport Ministry saying the airline did not have a permit to fly on Sundays. AirAsia said it was reviewing the suspension.
