AirAsia plane search area expanded

The search for the victims of the ill-fated AirAsia Flight QZ8501 has expanded to more areas off Indonesia, as more bodies are being retrieved.

The search area expanded from two to four sectors on Thursday.

“The weather is clear today. We’re making an all-out effort to search for bodies and locate the fuselage,” search and rescue official Sunarbowo Sandi said.

Sandi added that foreign experts would also join Indonesian transport safety investigators to help with the search.

“Ten investigators from the national transport safety committee (KNKT) along with two French and two Singapore investigators will join the search today to locate the fuselage,” he added.

The bodies of at least four men and three women have been found so far. A male and female have been identified so far, with the female said to have been wearing a flight attendant’s uniform.

The Airbus A320-200, belonging to Malaysia’s airlines, with 162 passengers on board, disappeared on December 28 en route from Surabaya in Indonesia’s east Java to Singapore.

Half an hour after take-off, the plane’s pilot had reportedly asked permission to fly at a higher altitude as a result of stormy weather. His request was denied due to other planes flying at higher altitudes.

Later on Tuesday, search teams spotted debris from the plane at a spot in the Java Sea.

Reports said over 1,100 search and rescue personnel from Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, and New Zealand have joined Indonesia’s teams.