RMN Vessel Recovers Woman's Body In Ill-Fated Flight QZ8501 Crash

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 (Bernama) -- One of three Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) vessels involved in the search and rescue (SAR) operation of the ill-fated AirAsia Indonesia Flight QZ8501 which crashed into the Java Sea, recovered the body of a woman Thursday. In a Twitter message, RMN chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar said: "KD Perak has just recovered the body of a woman at 11am at Sector 1. Body in the process of being handed over to Basarnas (Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency)." When contacted by Bernama here Thursday, he said it was the ninth body recovered by Malaysian vessels during the SAR operation which is into its 12th day since Flight QZ8501 crashed into the Java Sea on Dec 28. Flight QZ8501 disappeared from the radar on Dec 28 last year enroute to Singapore from Surabaya, Indonesia. The aircraft with 155 passengers and seven crew members crashed in the waters of Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Basarnas said the bodies of 39 passengers had been found. Of the number, 16 have been identified by the Indonesian Police Disaster Victim Identification Team. -- BERNAMA