Tail of crashed AirAsia plane lifted from seabed
11 Jan 2015 12:55 AM GMT
Rescuers on Saturday lifted the tail of the AirAsia jet from the Java Sea using balloons and a crane, nearly two weeks after the plane crashed in the choppy waters and will now search it for the crucial black box.
The development comes a day after “pings” believed to have come from the ill-fated jet’s black box were detected and efforts to retrieve the tail section - where the black box is located - were stepped up.
Indonesian search and rescue teams hoisted the Airbus A320-200’s rear section using lifting balloons and a crane from a depth of about 30 metres on to a rescue ship but it was not immediately clear whether the crucial data recorders that could unravel the mystery of the December 28 crash were still inside the tail or have been separated.
“Yes, the tail is already on the surface,” S B Supriyadi, search and rescue agency coordinator told reporters in Pangkalan Bun, the town closest to the site.
“It’s currently being brought close to a ship and then it will be towed. And then they want to search for the black box,” he said.
In a major breakthrough in the arduous hunt, searchers spotted the tail section 30 kms from the plane’s last known location on Wednesday, a day after divers joined the multi-national hunt.
The tail is the biggest part of the plane’s wreckage found so far. 48 bodies, including at least two strapped to their seats, have been found in the choppy waters.
The development comes a day after “pings” believed to have come from the ill-fated jet’s black box were detected and efforts to retrieve the tail section - where the black box is located - were stepped up.
Indonesian search and rescue teams hoisted the Airbus A320-200’s rear section using lifting balloons and a crane from a depth of about 30 metres on to a rescue ship but it was not immediately clear whether the crucial data recorders that could unravel the mystery of the December 28 crash were still inside the tail or have been separated.
“Yes, the tail is already on the surface,” S B Supriyadi, search and rescue agency coordinator told reporters in Pangkalan Bun, the town closest to the site.
“It’s currently being brought close to a ship and then it will be towed. And then they want to search for the black box,” he said.
In a major breakthrough in the arduous hunt, searchers spotted the tail section 30 kms from the plane’s last known location on Wednesday, a day after divers joined the multi-national hunt.
The tail is the biggest part of the plane’s wreckage found so far. 48 bodies, including at least two strapped to their seats, have been found in the choppy waters.
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