Divers being sent to examine AirAsia wreckage

Source: AP-Excite

By TATAN SYUFLANA

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia (AP) — With the weather improving, divers prepared Sunday to examine wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501 in hopes of retrieving the rest of the bodies and finding clues to what caused the plane to crash in stormy weather a week ago.

The breakthrough in the hunt for the Airbus A320 came after sonar equipment aboard search ships detected four massive objects on the ocean floor in the Java Sea, and Indonesian officials said they were confident they belong to the plane.

The biggest piece, measuring 18 meters (59 feet) long and 5.4 meters (18 feet) wide, appeared to be part of the jet's body, said Henry Bambang Soelistyo, chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency.

Strong currents and big waves that had prevented divers from entering waters eased on Sunday. About 90 divers from Indonesia and Russia were being deployed to recover more bodies that officials believe are still strapped in their seats, said National Searh and Rescue deputy chief Tatang Zainudin.

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Bags containing dead bodies of the passengers of AirAsia Flight 8501 are lifted onto Indonesian navy vessel KRI Banda Aceh at sea off the coast of Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015. Indonesian officials were hopeful Saturday they were honing in on the wreckage of the flight after sonar equipment detected two large objects on the ocean floor, a full week after the plane went down in stormy weather. (AP Photo/Adek Berry, Pool)


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