AirAsia plane crash: 3 more bodies recovered on Dec 31

Jakarta, Dec 31: Three more bodies were recovered on Wednesday from the site where AirAsia flight QZ8501 crashed in the Java Sea, taking the number of bodies recovered so far to six, a media report said.

The Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency recovered the bodies from the AirAsia flight QZ8501 crash site in the Java Sea.

Bambang Sulistyo, the national search and rescue agency, has confirmed that the bodies and debris, are from the plane which went missing with 162 onboard on Sunday. It had lost contact with the air control tower 42 minutes after taking off from Indonesia's Surabaya city for Singapore on Sunday morning and was spotted in the waters of Karimata Strait, west of Kalimantan island.

The district administration of Kotawaringin Barat has made available 168 coffins in Pangkalan Bun. An Air Force Hercules aircraft also has brought in a number of coffins from Jakarta.

The agency said the search and rescue work was hampered with heavy rain and bad weather.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ordered the agency to coordinate search and the agency has sent divers to the location.

IANS