As the search for AirAsia Flight QZ8501 stretched into its eighth day, the Java Sea continued to slowly give up the remains of the 162 victims aboard the ill-fated flight, as well as wreckage of the aircraft.
At least four more bodies were recovered on Sunday, bringing the count to 34. The remains were transferred by helicopter to the processing center in Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia, to the north of the search area.
The developments came as Indonesian officials announced that they had identified three more bodies -- two female passengers and a male flight attendant.
Additional wreckage was spotted overnight, measuring almost 10 meters (33 feet) by 1 meter.
Sunday's progress was not as great as searchers had hoped. It was forecast to be the best day weather-wise for the search, but choppy seas once again hindered the operation.
Initial compensation offered
As many endured the agonizing wait for news of their loved ones, CNN obtained details of initial compensation packages from AirAsia to the families of the victims.
Several family members told CNN on Sunday that families of those on board the plane were presented with a draft letter from AirAsia outlining details of preliminary compensation.
The letter states that families are entitled to about $24,000 for each family member who was on the plane.
While some families signed the letter, others requested revisions to the wording.
This compensation money is for any "financial hardships" during this period of the search, and in the letters AirAsia stressed that it was not a confirmation that their family members were deceased.
Search continues
Taking advantage of better weather, the surface search area has been extended to the east, Marsdya Bambang Sulistyo, head of the Indonesian Search and Rescue agency, told reporters Sunday.
Although there has been an improvement in conditions, they remain difficult, with heavy rain and high waves continuing to hamper recovery efforts.
The surface search's extension was based on predictions that the remains of the victims, along with wreckage from the aircraft, have drifted with the current.
The priority surface and underwater search areas remained the same, he added.
Twenty aircraft and 27 ships were involved in Sunday's search. Divers are on standby but the underwater search was halted due to poor visibility and strong currents.
Three more bodies -- still wearing seat belts -- were spotted on Friday, an Indonesian marine corps major, Professor De Greatsman, said.
Search teams have found several large pieces of debris believed to be parts of the aircraft. Sulistyo said the latest objects -- including one that is 18 meters long -- were located by sonar in the priority search area.
Searchers came upon the metal parts after spotting an oil slick late Friday.
Divers searching in the depths of the Java Sea for wreckage from AirAsia Flight QZ8501 say big waves on the surface aren't the only difficulty they're facing. They also can't see in front of them down on the sea floor.
The diving teams who made their way to the bottom of the sea Sunday encountered muddy waters with zero visibility, according to officials.
The Indonesian Navy has sent special equipment to try to tackle the muddy conditions, Indonesian military chief Gen. Moeldoko said Monday.
U.S. Navy divers assisting in the search have already been using side-scan sonar gear, which is designed to map the sea floor and capture accurate images for analysis.
When they find submerged wreckage, divers could also face challenges like "jagged edges, torn fuselage, things hanging all over the place," said Geno Gargiulo, an experienced commercial diver in the United States.
"It's going to be dark inside -- a lot of things for a diver to get snagged on, for its umbilical to get caught up on, to get disoriented," said Gargiulo, who says he's helped in the aftermath of recent catastrophes, including the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Highlighting the complexity of the challenge, Moeldoko said Monday that one large piece of wreckage initially believed to be part of the aircraft turned out to actually be from a ship.
Objects obscured by waves
The ships and aircraft looking for remains from Flight QZ8501 have so far recovered 37 bodies and detected several large pieces of wreckage believed to be from the commercial jet, according to Indonesian officials.
But they still haven't located the main body of the plane and the all-important flight recorders.
Some of the bodies found over the weekend were still wearing seat-belts, search officials said.
The bad weather conditions brought about by Indonesia's monsoon -- including strong winds, thick clouds, heavy rain and big waves -- have hindered the teams' efforts during nine days of searching.
"As soon as you see something in the distance, it disappears behind a wave -- and then it's very difficult to try and spot it again," said CNN's Paula Hancocks, who spent 15 hours out on a search vessel Sunday.
Sinking bodies
Anton Castilani, head of the Disaster Victims Identification unit, is eager to get the rest of the victims out of the water before they sink to the bottom of the sea. He is in charge of identifying them and said that gases in the bodies that keep them afloat disperse after a few days in the water.
He urged families to be patient with his team as they identify loved ones. He wants to do his work right. "We have to make sure that we have to return that right body to the right family," he said.
Decomposition also slows his work down. "The later the dead bodies come to you, the harder you work," he said. His team uses fingerprints and dental records as well as DNA to find out who they have recovered.
Recoveries, identifications
On Friday, the USS Sampson, which the U.S. Navy has deployed to help, recovered some bodies.
A limited number of them will be autopsied to determine the cause of death to aid the investigation, an Indonesian official said Saturday. But many families don't want autopsies done.
"For the sake of the investigation, we agree, and it is accepted by Interpol, to perform autopsies on the pilot, co-pilot and some randomly selected passengers," said East Java Police Chief Anas Yusuf.
Nine of the plane's victims have been identified with the addition of the three victims' names on Sunday.
Search priorities
Finding the fuselage and flight data recorders of the Airbus A320-200 has priority for the 59 diving teams searching underneath the waves. Russia has joined the effort with 22 underwater teams along with a search plane and a cargo jet.
The searchers are concentrating on a 1,575-square-nautical-mile zone that officials believe is the most probable area to find the remains of the aircraft.
Monday 5 January 2015
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/04/world/asia/airasia-disaster/
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/05/world/asia/airasia-disaster/
