By Ainur Rohmah
JAKARTA
The search for the missing AirAsia flight was further expanded Tuesday as officials sent teams to investigate separate reports of debris and smoke in the area the airliner vanished.
Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency said it would be exploring 13 search areas over land and sea for signs of flight QZ8501, missing since Sunday with 162 passengers and crew aboard.
As the hunt entered its third day, Bambang Soelistyo, the agency’s head, told the Kompas.com news website: "The search area has been expanded to 13 points from seven points in the second day."
The search area will cover 97,000 square miles (156,000 square kilometers).
He said the search would be concentrated around Bangka and Belitung islands in the Java Sea between Sumatra and Borneo.
Search and rescue teams were heading for Seven island to the north of Belitung island to investigate one of three reports that could be related to a possible crash site.
Fishermen there reported finding debris that could be part of the aircraft, an Airbus A320-200 that was lost halfway through its journey from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore.
Adi Nugraha, operations chief for the coast guard in Bangka Belitung province, said several items of debris had been discovered.
He told the Tempo.com website: "The biggest measured 4 x 1 meter. Its color is red and white-silver, like AirAsia."
To the south of Belitung, provincial search and rescue leader Andriandi said they had received reports of "billowing smoke" on Long Island.
In the Karimata strait, to the northeast of Belitung, there was a further report of an object in the water from a Hercules C-130 search plane on Tuesday morning.
"We can't make sure it’s part of AirAsia but this finding is suspicious and we need to follow up," Air Marshal Dwi Putranto told Kompas.com.
Separate reports on Monday of suspicious objects and an oil slick in the waters close to the area where the AirAsia plane last made contact proved unrelated to the aircraft.
Indonesia has now deployed 37 ships and aircraft in the hunt for signs of the airliner, Soelistyo said, while Singapore has provided two vessels and two aircraft, Malaysia has given three ships and a helicopter and Australia has supplied two aircraft for the search.
Reports on Tuesday said Thailand, France, the U.S. and China had also offered naval craft and Soelistyo said South Korea had added an Orion search and communications aircraft to the hunt.
Local fishermen have been seeking signs of the plane in the waters they work.
Meanwhile, AirAsia said Tuesday that it would fly passengers’ relatives over the site of search zone. An Airbus A320, similar to the missing plane, would fly over the area from Surabaya’s Juanda international airport, Indonesia AirAsia Chief Executive Sunu Widyatmoko told a press conference broadcast on MetroTV.
He added: “We have received a request from the next-of-kin to be able to see the location as they believe, with their presence and prayers, they will help the SAR [search and rescue] team to quickly find the aircraft.”
The airline will cooperate with search organizers to avoid interrupting the operation.
“As of now, dozens of aircraft are flying at the location so we need to coordinate with the SAR team,” Widyatmoko said. “We are trying our best to give support to the family members.”
The company will also give family and friends with direct contact to the rescue agency to provide them with up-to-date information on the mission.
The last contact with the flight was at 06.12 Sunday local time (23.12 Saturday GMT) when the pilot requested permission to veer left and climb to 38,000 feet (11,600 meters) to avoid heavy storm clouds.
The pilot was granted permission to change course but not to climb immediately due to another flight on the same path. No distress signal was received before the plane disappeared from radar.
Soelistyo said Monday that the plane is most likely beneath the Java Sea.
The majority of those aboard were Indonesians although the co-pilot was French and the passengers included three South Koreans, a Malaysian and a British national reportedly travelling with his Singaporean daughter.
The loss of AirAsia is the third major air disaster to hit Southeast Asia this year. In March, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing en route to Beijing with 239 aboard and four months later Flight MH17 crashed in Ukraine’s Donetsk region near the border with Russia, killing all 298 aboard.
AirAsia has a positive safety record and has not reported any previous disasters. The company has set up an emergency line for family or friends. The number is +622 129 850 801.
www.aa.com.tr/en
