Bad Weather Caused Today's Postponement of AirAsia Qz8501 Mission

Liputan6.com, Jakarta Approaching the 29^th day of the search and rescue mission of AirAsia QZ8501, the Indonesian Navy divers team along with other joint SAR team continue to pursue their ambition in trying to find what is left from the crash. Giving up seems to be not in their dictionary.

On the 29^th day of the search which is last Sunday (25/01/2015), they have again succeeded in evacuating one female victims from the crash who was evidently trapped inside the body part of the aircraft around the Java Sea.

The Indonesian Armed Forces Head of Information Major General M Fuad Basya said on Monday (26/01/2015) that the TNI Navy divers team continued their mission to evacuate AisrAsia QZ8501 victims and the body of the aircraft by dispatching inflatable boats and Sea Raider, along with Dishidros equipment. They were preoccupied as they tried to strengthen the belting and straps.

A number of divers from KRI Banda Aceh is now at the Crest Onyx ship since last Saturday (24/01/2015).

Meanwhile the lifting bad used remains the one with the weight of 10 tons. The Crest Onxy vessel will be used to lift out the body part of the aircraft.

The process of strapping and belting around the body part of the aircraft has been done since Sunday morning at 04.55 am local time and 09.30 am local time. The floating bag has already been successful in lifting out the body part of the aircraft as it was seen floating near the rear of Crest Onyx vessel.
 
However, it was not their lucky day as the rope used to carry out the body part was cut off along the way allowing the body part to again submerge into the water. Despite the pessimism, the team did not give up as the troll rope remains attached to the body part so that the body is not fully drowned to the bottom of the sea.

The body that was found by joint SAR team was seen floating along with the body part of the aircraft as it was lifted out of the ocean. But when the body came to submerge back into the ocean, the body remains floated and thus evacuated using an inflatable boat directed to KN Pacitan.
 
Apart from the victim, debris from the aircraft was also seen floating around. Evacuated victim was then taken to KN Pacitan and then to Lanud Iskandar, Pangkalan bun using the Hely Bell.

The victim was taken to the Sultan Imanuddin hospital after that, to go through the identification process and to be placed into the crate.

So far, joint SAR team has succeeded in evacuating at least 70 AirAsia QZ8501 deceased victims. Today, the mission will be put on hold as weather report suggests the possibility of unfriendly weather throughout the day.

The wave is also reported to be on its highest, reaching almost 2 to 4 metre in height and the swift current goes up to 1,7 knot. These are the primary reasons for the postponement of today’s mission. (Akp/Ein)