SAR Agency Believes AirAsia QZ8501 Sank In Bangka Belitung

Jakarta, Dec 29 (Antara) - The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) believes that the fuselage of AirAsia QZ8501 jet, which went missing on Sunday morning (Dec. 28), sank in the waters between Bangka Belitung and West Kalimantan. "It (sinking) is our initial estimation. However, we will follow up with the search results," Head of Basarnas Marshal Bambang Soelistyo stated here on Monday. The Basarnas` viewpoint is based on the last recorded coordinates of the aircraft, which was detected by the Air Traffic Center in Soekarno-Hatta Airport. The center then lost contact with the aircraft at 6:17 a.m. local time. Bambang pointed out that the biggest challenge faced during the search effort is determining the precise location where the QZ8501 jet crashed. Besides this, limitations in technology and accuracy of the search equipment also pose major challenges to the rescue team, particularly in deep waters. However, the Basarnas is operating Baruna Jaya Vessel provided by the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT). The vessel comes equipped with sonar facility that can detect metal objects under the water. The Basarnas will conduct search operation for a period of a week since the aircraft was declared missing on Sunday.