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Indonesia ends hunt for victims of AirAsia crash

Wednesday, 18 March 2015 3:52 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 18 March 2015 3:52 PM ]

Indonesian rescuers carry a coffin bearing the recovered body of a victim of AirAsia plane crash of December 2014 onto a plane, March 17, 2015. © AFP

Indonesia has ended its search for the bodies of dozens of people who were on board an AirAsia aircraft that crashed in the Java Sea in December.

Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency spokesman, Dianta Bangun, said on Wednesday that rescue teams have ended the hunt for victims.

“The extra seven-day search officially ended Tuesday. All ships and personnel have been pulled back today and there are no more search activities in Pangkalan Bun,” media outlets quoted Bangun as saying in reference to the town in Central Kalimantan Province.

Sources say the extended search, carried out at the request of the victims’ families, recovered three more bodies on March 15 with some of their personal belongings.

Latest figures show that the total number of victims found stood at 106, with 56 people still unaccounted for.

Meanwhile, AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes said the operation had been “successful” but added that it could not “go on indefinitely.”

“There is a time period and we’ve agreed with the families that this is obviously not something that can go on indefinitely,” Tony said.

Indonesian rescue personnel unload recovered bodies from the underwater wreckage of AirAsia flight QZ8501 at Kumai sea port, Central Kalimantan, February 8, 2015. © AFP

On December 28, 2014, the Indonesia AirAsia Airbus A320 disappeared en route to Singapore from Surabaya in Indonesia, with 155 passengers and seven crew members on board.

The crash sparked a huge international hunt, with vessels from several nations scouring the sea for the plane wreckage and the victims.

On January 12, a team of Indonesian divers retrieved a flight data recorder of the ill-fated plane.

The search was scaled back dramatically in recent weeks, with foreign ships withdrawing as well as the Indonesian military, which had provided the bulk of personnel.

The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics has said that bad weather was the key factor behind the crash, specifically pointing to icy conditions as the likely cause of engine failure.

JR/HSN/SS

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