Three more bodies were pulled from the Java Sea on Wednesday, including one wearing a flight attendant uniform. The discovery followed the retrieval Tuesday of three bodies from the debris site of AirAsia Flight 8501.
After a three day search in the aqua waters off Indonesia for the 162 victims, debris was first spotted Tuesday by a search team not far from where the plane dropped off the radar screen. Searchers found bodies, a life jacket, an emergency exit door, a suitcase and other small items about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the plane’s last known coordinates.
The bodies pulled from the site so far include three males and three females, one of which is the flight attendant, the chief of Indonesia’s Search and Rescue Agency Henry Bambang Soelistyo told local media.
The water where the victims and debris were discovered is the Karimata Strait, which is clear and relatively shallow at 65 to 100 feet (20 to 30 meters). First Adm. Sigit Setiayanta, commander of the Naval Aviation Center at Surabaya Air Force base, told reporters the six corpses were spotted about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Central Kalimantan province.
The search agency told local media Wednesday sonar imagery appears to show the aircraft upside down on the ocean floor less than two miles (3.5 kilometers) from the debris field. It follows reports Tuesday of the spotting of a shadow consistent with a plane in the shallow water.
CNN reports a search official, who goes by the single name Hernato, said it is unclear whether the aircraft is in one piece or broken apart on the floor of the Java Sea.
Day four of the search and retrieval effort is being hampered by high winds and strong currents while heavy rain grounded the search helicopters.
“We are in a wait and see. Weather is bad currently. High tides and heavy rains. Every element is now in their position ready to make a move when weather improves,” Soelistyo said.
Images of the debris and a bloated body shown on Indonesian television Tuesday sent a spasm of anguish through the room at the Surabaya airport where relatives awaited news about their missing loved ones.
