The mission involved Baruna Jaya research vessel as well as MV Geo Survey and KN Jadayat because they were equipped with underwater detection facilities, Basarnas Chief Rear Marshal FH Bambang Sulistyo said here Friday.
The three vessels are equipped with scanning sonar and pinger locator, he said adding that the evacuation of bodies of the plane crash victims, their luggage and debris of the ill-fated jet were also carried out.
The objects that the search workers have so far discovered from the waters of Karimata Strait near Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan Province, are still bodies and luggage of the victims and aircrafts debris.
Sulistyo said the search mission would be prioritized inside the area of 1,575 square miles.
The ill-fated Airbus carrying 162 people, including seven crew members, lost contact with Jakartas air traffic control tower on December 28 in its flight from Surabaya, East Java, to Singapore.
Since the day of its disappearance, Indonesia has launched a massive search and rescue operation that is also joined by a number of foreign countries.
As of Friday morning, 10 bodies of the planes victims have been discovered and evacuated. Eight of them have been sent to Surabaya from Pangkalan Bun to be identified by the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team members.
(Reported by Wuryanti Puspitasari/R013/H-YH)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2015
