QZ8501: Three more victims identified

KUALA LUMPUR: The Indonesian Police Disaster Victim Identification Department (DVI POLRI) yesterday confirmed that the remains of three more victims of the AirAsia Indonesia QZ8501 crash have been identified.
They are Indra Yulianto, Hindarto Halim and Jou Brian Youvito. AirAsia Indonesia in a statement said the remains were handed over to the respective families earlier yesterday, at the Bhayangkara Hospital in Surabaya.
To date, the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has confirmed recovering the remains of 39 passengers. Sixteen of them have been identified by DVI POLRI while the rest are in the process of being identified.
According to the statement, the search and rescue (SAR) operations continued around the focused area today, where the aircraft could most likely be located.
"More than 40 vessels and 20 helicopters have been deployed and are focused to find the exact location of the wreckage, as well as the black-box.
"The weather was cloudy with light rain and waves at between two and three metres.
"However, the underwater current is still strong, at around four-five knots and the visibility is still limited for sea divers to identify more findings from under the sea," it said.
On Dec 28, AirAsia Indonesia Flight QZ8501 vanished from radar while en route to Singapore from Surabaya, Indonesia, with 155 passengers and seven crew members.
It crashed in the waters off Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan in Indonesia. – Bernama