BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- The search for AirAsia flight 8501 which crashed last Sunday en route from Indonesia to Singapore has entered the sixth day.
A funeral was held on Thursday for the first victim identified - Hayati Lutfiah Hamid. Hamid's relatives are still waiting for news about three other family members, who were also aboard the doomed AirAsia jetliner.
Meanwhile, France's crash investigation agency has said its specialist black box search team and equipment will arrive early Friday in the search area. France's BEA crash investigation agency assists in the investigation of any air crash involving an Airbus aircraft.
On Thursday, rough seas prevented divers from reaching the possible wreck of the AirAsia Indonesia jet off Borneo. An aviation official said it could be a week before the black box flight recorders were found. Nine bodies have so far been recovered and were brought in numbered coffins to Surabaya where relatives have gathered for identification. Barnaby Lo reports from Surabaya.
Four coffins with remains found at the presumed crash site of AirAsia Flight 8501 arrived in ambulances at a local hospital in Surabaya Wednesday adding to the two that were already being processed for identification. Barnaby Lo reports from Surabaya...
As remains arrived here in Surabaya, the process of identifying the victims begins. And that is primarily why authorities had moved the crisis center from the airport to these grounds. The building behind me is the provincial police headquarters, which serves now as the holding area for relatives of the crash victims."
Family members who not only have to come to terms with the reality of possibly losing their loved ones but also with the uncertainty of ever being able to reunite with them.
"My son and his wife were going to Singapore for a week-long holiday. I don't know if any of the bodies found could be them. Authorities have given us no information," says a woman.
Better weather conditions earlier in the day allowed for a resumption of the search and recovery operation. The hunt was on not just for the missing passengers and crew and the wreckage, but for the plane's black boxes as well.
"Hopefully with the operation from the air and sea more can be found again today," says Tatang Zaenuddin, from National Search and Rescue Agency.
But the lucky break didn't last and by the end of the day, only one body had been identified. Hayati Lutfiah Hamid was handed over to her grieving family in a somber ceremony. Prayers and sympathies were offered. It was a moment they dreaded but a moment also to finally put an end to what had been long, agonizing days of waiting.
(Source: english.CNTV.cn)
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