Photo posted on the facebook page of Defence Minister of Singapore Ng Eng Hen on Jan. 14, 2014 shows the main fuselage of the crashed AirAsia plane. The main fuselage of the crashed AirAsia plane has been found, Indonesian officials said on Wednesday. Divers were deployed down for a visual check on the jet's main body and it is confirmed after pictures containing the AirAsia logo which reads "Now Everyone can fly" are taken by a remotely operated underwater vehicle, said Ng Eng Hen, the Defence Minister of Singapore, on his facebook page. (Xinhua)
SINGAPORE, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- A Singapore Navy vessel has found the main fuselage of AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501, which crashed into the sea on Dec. 28, Singapore's Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said on Wednesday.
"Chief of Navy RADM (Rear Admiral) Lai Chung Han just informed me that one of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)'s ships, the MV Swift Rescue, has located the fuselage of the AirAsia plane in the Java Sea," Ng wrote on his Facebook page.
"Images taken by the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) show part of the wing and words on the fuselage. We have informed BASARNAS, the Indonesian search authority, who can now begin recovery operations," he wrote.
The defense minister said in a latest update on Wednesday evening that he spoke with Chow Khim Chong, commander of the task group for underwater search operations onboard the Singapore vessel. Chow told him over phone that the wreckage with wings was about 26 meters long and that it was found about 2 kilometers from where the tail was found earlier.
"They then sent the remotely operated vehicle to have visual confirmation before informing BASARNAS, the Indonesian search authority," he wrote.
Ng thanked the Singapore Armed Forces servicemen involved in the search operations.
"Especially to the crew of MV Swift Rescue, you never gave up -- well done," he said.
Singapore has dispatched search and rescue professionals, equipment and vessels to join the search for the AirAsia flight that went missing on Dec. 28 on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore. It had 162 people onboard.
Massive search and rescue efforts have been made since then, involving personnel from Indonesia and other countries. The flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder have been found and lifted out of water.
Locating the main wreckage of the Airbus A320-200 aeroplane could hopefully help bring "some form of closure" to families of victims, Ng added.
JAKARTA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Final results of investigation on the crashed AirAsia QZ 8501 will be published at least one year later, an Indonesian official said here on Tuesday. Full story
JAKARTA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua)-- The cockpit voice recorder of crashed AirAsia flight QZ8501 was retrieved on Tuesday from sea and was on board an Indonesian navy ship bound for capital Jakarta for analysis, local press reported. Full story
JAKARTA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua)-- Indonesia is gearing up to open and investigate the black box of the crashed AirAsia airliner at home carried out by government-sanctioned National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) as the flight data recorder was managed to be recovered on Monday in an operation carried out by divers from Indonesian navy.Full Story
BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- After days of search, Indonesian navy divers have finally succeeded in retrieving the flight data recorder (FDR) of the crashed AirAsia Flight QZ8501 in the Java Sea, shedding light on determining the cause of the fatal crash with 162 people onboard.Full Story
