Indonesian rescuers searching for an AirAsia plane carrying
162 people pulled bodies and wreckage from the sea off the coast of
Borneo yesterday, prompting relatives of those on board watching TV
footage to break down in tears.
Indonesia AirAsia’s Flight QZ8501, an Airbus A320-200, lost contact with air traffic control early on Sunday during bad weather on a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
The navy said 40 bodies had been recovered, but the plane was yet to be found.
“My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ8501,” airline boss, Tony Fernandes tweeted. “On behalf of AirAsia, my condolences to all. Words cannot express how sorry I am.”
The airline said in a statement that it was inviting family members to Surabaya, “where a dedicated team of care providers will be assigned to each family to ensure that all of their needs are met”.
Reuters reported that pictures of floating bodies were broadcast on television and relatives of the missing already gathered at a crisis centre in Surabaya wept with heads in their hands. Several people collapsed in grief and were helped away.
“You have to be strong,” the mayor of Surabaya, Tri Rismaharini, said as she comforted relatives. “They are not ours; they belong to God.”
A navy spokesman said a plane door, oxygen tanks and one body had been recovered and taken away by a helicopter for tests.
“The challenge is waves up to three meters high,” Fransiskus Bambang Soelistyo, head of the Search and Rescue Agency, told reporters, adding that the search operation would go on all night. He declined to answer questions on whether any survivors had been found.
About 30 ships and 21 aircraft from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and the United States have been involved in the search.
The plane, which did not issue a distress signal, disappeared after its pilot failed to get permission to fly higher to avoid bad weather because of heavy air traffic, officials said.
It was travelling at 32,000 feet (9,753 meters) and had asked to fly at 38,000 feet, officials said earlier.
Pilots and aviation experts said thunderstorms, and requests to gain altitude to avoid them, were not unusual in that area.
The Indonesian pilot was experienced and the plane last underwent maintenance in mid-November, the airline said.
The aircraft had accumulated about 23,000 flight hours in some 13,600 flights, according to the Airbus.
Online discussion among pilots has centered on unconfirmed secondary radar data from Malaysia that suggested the aircraft was climbing at a speed of 353 knots, about 100 knots too slow, and that it might have stalled.
The plane, whose engines were made by CFM International, co-owned by General Electric and Safran of France, lacked real-time engine diagnostics or monitoring, a GE spokesman said.
Meanwhile, it is a season of sorrows for AirAsia as another plane belonging to the airline yesterday overshot the runway in Philippines, nearly killing 159 people on board.
This is happening after the ailine’s Flight QZ8501 crashed into the sea in Indonesia on Sunday, killing all 162 passengers on board. Forty bodies of victims were discovered yesterday, as the search continued for the remaining 122 passengers and the aircraft believed to be buried in the sea.
Philippine officials said an AirAsia Zest plane with 159 passengers and crew members overshot a runway in a central province after landing in windy weather from Manila.
Mr Giovanni Hontomin, who is in charge of AirAsia Zest’s operations, said crew members activated an emergency slide to help passengers disembark safely from the Airbus A320-200 yesterday. There were no immediate reports of injuries and the plane remained stuck on a grassy area near the runway’s end.
The incident came after the crash of an AirAsia plane that disappeared over the Java Sea on Sunday on a flight from Indonesia to Singapore with 162 people on board. Bloated bodies and debris were seen floating in Indonesian waters yesterday.
Domestic carrier AirAsia Zest is partly owned by AirAsia Philippines.
About 250,000 Evacuated As Malaysian Flood Worsens
Malaysia and Thailand have faced severe flooding in the last few days, resulting in almost a quarter of a million people having to abandon their homes and 24 deaths as at yesterday.
The Weather Centre of the Malaysia Meteorological Department has said that the rains are expected to continue in the days ahead.
Malaysian North-eastern states, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, have been particularly badly hit with water rising fast and the strong currents hampering rescue efforts.
Many have been forced to take shelter in temporary relief centres but there is considerable anger amongst the population over the relatively slow response from the government.
Indonesia AirAsia’s Flight QZ8501, an Airbus A320-200, lost contact with air traffic control early on Sunday during bad weather on a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
The navy said 40 bodies had been recovered, but the plane was yet to be found.
“My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ8501,” airline boss, Tony Fernandes tweeted. “On behalf of AirAsia, my condolences to all. Words cannot express how sorry I am.”
The airline said in a statement that it was inviting family members to Surabaya, “where a dedicated team of care providers will be assigned to each family to ensure that all of their needs are met”.
Reuters reported that pictures of floating bodies were broadcast on television and relatives of the missing already gathered at a crisis centre in Surabaya wept with heads in their hands. Several people collapsed in grief and were helped away.
“You have to be strong,” the mayor of Surabaya, Tri Rismaharini, said as she comforted relatives. “They are not ours; they belong to God.”
A navy spokesman said a plane door, oxygen tanks and one body had been recovered and taken away by a helicopter for tests.
“The challenge is waves up to three meters high,” Fransiskus Bambang Soelistyo, head of the Search and Rescue Agency, told reporters, adding that the search operation would go on all night. He declined to answer questions on whether any survivors had been found.
About 30 ships and 21 aircraft from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and the United States have been involved in the search.
The plane, which did not issue a distress signal, disappeared after its pilot failed to get permission to fly higher to avoid bad weather because of heavy air traffic, officials said.
It was travelling at 32,000 feet (9,753 meters) and had asked to fly at 38,000 feet, officials said earlier.
Pilots and aviation experts said thunderstorms, and requests to gain altitude to avoid them, were not unusual in that area.
The Indonesian pilot was experienced and the plane last underwent maintenance in mid-November, the airline said.
The aircraft had accumulated about 23,000 flight hours in some 13,600 flights, according to the Airbus.
Online discussion among pilots has centered on unconfirmed secondary radar data from Malaysia that suggested the aircraft was climbing at a speed of 353 knots, about 100 knots too slow, and that it might have stalled.
The plane, whose engines were made by CFM International, co-owned by General Electric and Safran of France, lacked real-time engine diagnostics or monitoring, a GE spokesman said.
Meanwhile, it is a season of sorrows for AirAsia as another plane belonging to the airline yesterday overshot the runway in Philippines, nearly killing 159 people on board.
This is happening after the ailine’s Flight QZ8501 crashed into the sea in Indonesia on Sunday, killing all 162 passengers on board. Forty bodies of victims were discovered yesterday, as the search continued for the remaining 122 passengers and the aircraft believed to be buried in the sea.
Philippine officials said an AirAsia Zest plane with 159 passengers and crew members overshot a runway in a central province after landing in windy weather from Manila.
Mr Giovanni Hontomin, who is in charge of AirAsia Zest’s operations, said crew members activated an emergency slide to help passengers disembark safely from the Airbus A320-200 yesterday. There were no immediate reports of injuries and the plane remained stuck on a grassy area near the runway’s end.
The incident came after the crash of an AirAsia plane that disappeared over the Java Sea on Sunday on a flight from Indonesia to Singapore with 162 people on board. Bloated bodies and debris were seen floating in Indonesian waters yesterday.
Domestic carrier AirAsia Zest is partly owned by AirAsia Philippines.
About 250,000 Evacuated As Malaysian Flood Worsens
Malaysia and Thailand have faced severe flooding in the last few days, resulting in almost a quarter of a million people having to abandon their homes and 24 deaths as at yesterday.
The Weather Centre of the Malaysia Meteorological Department has said that the rains are expected to continue in the days ahead.
Malaysian North-eastern states, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, have been particularly badly hit with water rising fast and the strong currents hampering rescue efforts.
Many have been forced to take shelter in temporary relief centres but there is considerable anger amongst the population over the relatively slow response from the government.
No comments:
Post a Comment