REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MANGGAR -- The Bangka-Belitung joint search and rescue (SAR) team has launched combing operations on the southern coast of Belitung near Long Island and Penepi Island to locate the AirAsia QZ8501 aircraft.
"The team will comb the southern coastal area and then move to eastern Long Island and Penepi Island," Head of East Belitung District Basuri Tjahaja Purnama revealed here on Monday (29/12).
Purnama explained that the search was being conducted based on the information provided by some fishermen who heard a blast near the Long Island, Penepi Island, and Nangka Island, which are located in proximity to one another.
"I come along with the joint team to search for the missing aircraft. Hopefully, we will be able to find it as the families and public are awaiting information," he remarked.
The AirAsia flight QZ8501 departed from Surabaya's Juanda Airport on Sunday (Dec. 28) at around 5:20 a.m. Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB). The plane was scheduled to arrive in Singapore at 8:30 a.m. local time.
The aircraft officially lost contact with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) on Sunday, at 7:55 a.m. WIB.
The jet was carrying 155 passengers comprising 138 adults, 16 children, and an infant, along with two pilots, four crew members, and a technician aboard.
Bangka-Belitung Head of SAR Joni Supriadi said hundreds of people have been deployed to search the southern and eastern coastal areas of East Belitung with six vessels, including 55 personnel of the SAR agency.
"We continue to search and working closely with each other, but, so far, we still have nothing," he stated.
In the meantime, the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) has deployed five aircraft to detect the fuselage of AirAsia flight QZ8501.
Acting Director General of Air Transportation of the Transportation Ministry Joko Muriatmojo stated that Malaysia and Singapore have dispatched two aircraft to search for the missing QZ8501 aircraft.
"On this second day of search, we have received assistance of the aircraft from Malaysia and Singapore," Joko revealed.
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