Divers Resume Operation to Recover Fuselage of Crashed AirAsia Plane

Singapore (PNA/TASS) — Indonesian divers have resumed an operation to recover from the Java Sea the fuselage of the crashed AirAsia plane, reports Detic.com, an Indonesian online news portal.

It said six ships, including cargo vessels, were concentrated in the area. Under the plan, this 26-meter-long fragment of the airliner is to be pulled out of the water with the use of inflatable devices, like this was done with the tail section.

However, big waves, a heavy rain and almost zero visibility hampered divers’ work on Thursday.

According to Bambang Supriyadi, operations coordinator at the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency, the operation could be completed within a few hours weather permitting. However, it could take several days, he admitted.

The authorities hope victims of the crash on December 28, 2014, could be found in the body of the plane. Only 50 bodies have been found as of yet.

Contact with the airliner carrying 162 people was lost during thundery weather on December 28, about 40 minutes after it took off on a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

Rescuers have found the black boxes, but specialists decline to give the reasons behind the crash as long as flight data is being deciphered. It is only known that the crew asked permission to climb to avoid a thunder storm, after which the contact with the plane was lost. (PNA/TASS) LAP/RSM