AirAsia flight QZ8501: Arrangements made for another 11 next-of-kin to fly to Surabaya
PUBLISHED ONDecember 29, 2014 2:06 PM
SINGAPORE - AirAsia has made arrangements for 11 next-of-kin of passengers who were on board AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501 to fly from Singapore to Indonesia, said the Ministry of Transport and the Civila Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in a joint statement.
This is on top of the 16 relatives who left last night.
The ill-fated QZ8501 departed Surabay for Singapore on Sunday morning carrying 162 passengers and crew, and lost contact with Indonesian air traffic control. It has been missing for more than 36 hours now, reported The Straits Times.
It is believed to have crashed in the Java Sea, according to various news reports.
In their joint statement, the ministry and CAAS said that Indonesia had accepted Singapore's offer of two teams of specialists and two sets of underwater locator beacon detectors to assist in locating the plane's flight data recorders.
This afternoon (Dec 29), Singapore also offered additional equipment and personnel from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, including a sidescan sonar system and a robotic remotely-operated vehicle.
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) deployed two C-130 aircraft to continue the search and locate operation on Monday, with the first taking off at around 6.30am in the morning and the second around noon.
The RSAF plans to fly two sorties tomorrow.
The Republic of Singapore Navy's Formidable-class frigate (RSS Supreme) and Missile corvette (RSS Valour) have arrived at the search area and commenced the search and locate operation. A Landing ship tank (RSS Persistence) also sailed off on Monday evening to join in the efforts.
The Indonesian Search and Rescue Agency, BASARNAS, has also accepted the Singapore Armed Forces' offer of a Submarine support and rescue vessel (MV Swift Rescue). It is ready to set sail, said the joint statement.
As search operations for missing Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ8501 continue into its second day, Singapore continues to provide support and assistance to the next-of-kin of passengers, which includes regular briefings by representatives of AirAsia, Changi Airport Group and Singapore's Ministry of Transport.
maryanns@sph.com.sg