AIRASIA INDONESIA FLIGHT QZ 8501 UPDATE AS PER 6TH JANUARY 2015 20:00

AIRASIA INDONESIA FLIGHT QZ 8501 UPDATE 

AS PER 6^TH JANUARY 2015 20:00 HRS LT (GMT+7)

SURABAYA, 6^TH JANUARY 2015 –AirAsia Indonesia wishes to provide an update regarding the latest development on the tenth day of search and rescue operation of QZ 8501 lead by The National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) Republic of Indonesia.

The SAR operations continued around the focused area where the aircraft is most likely located. More than 40 vessels and 20 helicopters were deployed and focused to find the exact location of the plane’s wreckage as well as the black box.

The weather was cloudy with light rain and waves at 2–3 meters. However, the underwater current is still strong around 4-5 knots and the visibility is still limited for the sea divers to identify more findings from under the sea.

Indonesian National Armed Forces Commander, General Moeldoko visited the military base at Pangkalan Bun this afternoon, to inspect the search and evacuation operation which is still running today.

This evening, BASARNAS also confirmed to recover two more remains from the focused search area. The two remains are still in Pangkalan Bun, waiting to be transported to Surabaya for further identification process.

Meanwhile, the Disaster Victim Identification Police Department Republic of Indonesia (DVI POLRI) today announced that they have identified 3 more remains of QZ 8501 passengers as: Indra Yulianto (male), Hindarto Halim (male), Jou Brian Youvito (male). AirAsia Indonesia officially handed over the remains to the respective families at Bhayangkara Hospital, Surabaya this afternoon.

To date, BASARNAS confirmed to have recovered a total of 39 remains of which 16 remains have been identified by DVI POLRI and 23 remains are still being identified.

AirAsia would like to take this opportunity to urge the public seeking progress on the search and evacuation and identification process of QZ 8501 passengers to refer solely to official information from BASARNAS and DVI POLRI.

Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families and friends of our passengers and colleagues on board QZ 8501. 

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Note to Editors: We ask that members of the news media do not call the AirAsia Emergency Call Centre, as this line is reserved for family members seeking information about those who may have been on board.