One week after jet crash, few answers
Divers may resume AirAsia search as weather improves
After an unrelenting system of storms, rough seas and low visibility undermined search efforts for AirAsia Flight 8501 over the weekend, weather improved today and divers will attempt again to locate objects thought to be part of the jet’s fuselage.
“Today’s searching mission is still ... dependent on the weather,” said Suryadi Supriyadi, Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue director of operations.
Authorities have given up hope of finding survivors among the 162 passengers and crew of the flight, which plunged into the murky Java Sea less than an hour after departing Surabaya, Indone- sia, on Dec. 28 bound for Singapore. So far, 34 bodies have been recovered from the water.
The Rev. Philip Mantofa, whose congregation in Surabaya included more than a quarter of the victims, led a chapel service aimed at bringing some solace amid the tragedy.
“If God has called your child, allow me to say this: Your child is not to be pitied,” Mantofa said, locking eyes with a grieving father seated in the front row. “Your child is already in God’s arms. One day, your family will be reunited in heaven.”
Many of the passengers and crew are likely to be found still strapped to their seats, said rescue official Supriyadi.
The largest piece found so far with sonar — measuring 59 feet long and 18 feet wide — is believed to be part of the jet’s body, Soelistyo said.
Other debris in the area measured up to 39 feet long.
Divers tried to reach the site Sunday, but rolling seas stirred up silt and mud, leaving them with zero visibility, Soelistyo said.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency cited icing as a likely culprit in the crash, but the cause is still being investigated.