Divers retrieve more AirAsia bodies, raising total to 100

Indonesian crews pulled out more bodies following last year's crash of an AirAsia jet, raising the total to 100 so far, authorities said Sunday.

Of the 100 bodies recovered, 72 have been identified, police said. Efforts are underway to identify the remaining victims.

AirAsia Flight 8501 plunged into the sea on December 28 as it flew from the Indonesian city of Surabaya toward Singapore. It had 162 people on board.

Divers resumed their attempt to lift up the fuselage of the Airbus jet on Sunday after earlier attempts failed.

Indonesian divers have recovered several more bodies from December's AirAsia crash, including one from the jet's cockpit, bringing the total number of victims retrieved to 100, an official said Saturday.

Divers on Friday retrieved four bodies, including one from the cockpit, said Henry Bambang Soelistyo, chief of Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency. He said the decomposed body — in uniform and still strapped by a seat belt — was believed to be either the pilot, Iriyanto, who like many Indonesians used one name, or French co-pilot Remi Emmanuel Plesel.

Soelistyo said a strong underwater current hampered attempts by divers Saturday to retrieve the other body from the cockpit.

Three more bodies were recovered Saturday, bringing to 100 the number of victims retrieved, Soelistyo told MetroTV.

Some of the bodies were found off Sulawesi island, about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) east of the crash site.

More than 60 divers are taking part in the search, which resumed Jan. 31 following several failed attempts to lift the fuselage from the seabed.

Sunday 8 February 2015

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