Air Asia Flight: First Two Bodies Arrive In Indonesia

The first two bodies from the AirAsia Flight QZ8501 crash have arrived in the Indonesian city of Surabaya, where relatives are waiting, according to a BBC report.

DNA samples would be collected from relatives to help identify the victims.

Remains of the Airbus A320-200, carrying 162 people from Surabaya to Singapore, which went missing on Sunday were located in the sea on Tuesday.

Authorities say seven bodies were retrieved from the sea before bad weather forced them to suspend further salvage efforts.

A public memorial will be held in Surabaya on Wednesday evening local time, and the governor of East Java province has told the BBC that all New Year’s Eve celebrations have been cancelled.

On board the plane were 137 adult passengers, 17 children and one infant, along with two pilots and five crew.

It is not yet clear what happened to the plane but its last communication was a request from air traffic control to climb to avoid bad weather. The pilot did not respond when given permission.

A three-day search culminated on Tuesday with the discovery of remains including aircraft parts, luggage and the bodies in the Karimata Strait, south-west of the town of Pangkalan Bun in the Indonesian part of Borneo.

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes said it had now been narrowed, with all assets involved in the search being moved to two areas where the aircraft could be.