Search plane spots ‘shadow’ on seabed believed to be AirAsia QZ8501

Indonesian air force CN295 crew members during the search operation for missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 over waters near Pangkalan, Central Kalimantan, on December 30, 2014

An Indonesian Air Force plane spotted a “shadow” on the seabed believed to be the missing AirAsia jet, Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency chief said.

“God blessed us today,” Bambang Soelistyo told a press conference.

“At 12:50 the air force Hercules found an object described as a shadow at the bottom of the sea in the form of a plane,” he said.

Soelistyo said the search was now being concentrated on the location where the “shadow” and debris have been found, around 160 kilometres (100 miles) southwest of the town of Pangkalan Bun in Central Kalimantan on Borneo island.

“All elements in the areas and search and rescue personnel will be moved to the location,” he said.

“Their job is to find and evacuate all objects or passengers’ bodies,” he said.

“I will make sure that all of them will be brought to Pangkalan Bun, the closest airstrip from the object’s location,” he said.

Story: AFP

Follow our live updates on the story of AirAsia QZ8501 for the latest news

Previous coverage

The Disappearance of AirAsia QZ8501: What we know so far

 

 ​This family of 10 missed getting on AirAsia QZ8501 by a few minutes

 

​Families of Air Asia flight QZ8501 passengers upset over lack of information

​National Search and Rescue Agency says bad weather could hinder search for Air Asia QZ8501

Air Asia QZ8501 Captain had more than 20,000 flying hours under his belt

Vice President Jusuf Kalla leads Basarnas search for Air Asia QZ8501, finds similarities to previous Adam Air plane crash

 



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