AirAsia QZ8501 black box found, say Indonesia authorities
In this photo taken from an Indonesian Air Force Super Puma helicopter, the tail part of AirAsia QZ 8501 is seen on the deck of rescue ship after it was recovered from the sea floor on the Java Sea, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015. Investigators searching for the crashed AirAsia plane's black boxes lifted the tail portion of the jet out of the Java Sea on Saturday, two weeks after it went down, killing all 162 people on board. Photo: AP
SURABAYA — Indonesia's Directorate General of Marine Transport has confirmed that the black box of AirAsia QZ8501 has been found, Indonesian authorities said in a press release on Sunday (Jan 11). The breakthrough comes exactly two weeks after the flight from Surabaya to Singapore went down with 162 people on board.
In the release, coordinator of the Directorate General of Marine Transport Tonny Budiono said navy divers from Indonesia navy ship KN Jadayat found the black box at a depth of 30 to 32 meters.
The black box is currently wedged between pieces of wreckage making it difficult for divers to retrieve, and due to time constraints, retrieval will take place on Monday morning, said Mr Budiono. The search crew will attempt to retrieve the black box by moving parts of wreckage to loosen it from where it is currently stuck, and if that fails, the same balloon method used to lift the tail of the plane will be employed.
To facilitate recovery efforts, a marker buoy has been installed at the site where the black box is, added Mr Budiono. CHANNEL NEWSASIA
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