Sidoarjo, East Java (ANTARA News) - The bodies of two AirAsia QZ8501 crash victims arrived here Wednesday and have been handed over to the Indonesian Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team.

The two bodies, of a male and female, were received by East Java Governor Soekarwo after they were flown down on an Indonesian Air Force aircraft from Pangkalan Bun in Central Kalimantan Province.

"Today we received two bodies. We have handed them over to the East Java Provincial Police to be identified," Governor Soekarwo noted.

To help the DVI team, tens of the families of victims have submitted their antemortem data.

Meanwhile, Jakarta-based Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has predicted moderate to high intensity rainfall in the search area on Thursday.

Besides the rainfall, waves in the search area can reach one to three meters in height, according to BMKG spokesman Fachri Radjab.

Search and rescue workers have so far evacuated the bodies of seven victims, including the two bodies that have been transported to Surabaya in East Java, from the Karimata Strait near Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan.

The AirAsia plane carrying 155 passengers and seven crew members lost contact with Jakartas air traffic control tower during its flight from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya to Changi International Airport, Singapore, on Sunday.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has appreciated search and rescue workers for retrieving the bodies of victims, luggage, and other debris of the ill-fated Airbus.

(Reported by KR-IDS and Desi Purnamawati/Uu.INE/KR-BSR/B003)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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