Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has sent 10 more volunteers to help evacuation process of AirAsia crashs victims in around Kumai Bay and Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan.

In total, 50 PMI volunteers were helping the evacuation operations, Anggun Permana, spokesman of PMI, said here, Sunday.

The volunteers will stay in Kumai Bay and Pangkalan Bun until the evacuation process is completed, according to him.

PMI has provided 200 body bags, 50 respirator masks, 500 face masks, 50 long latex gloves, and 100 ordinary gloves.

Seven ambulances of PMI are also standby in Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, East Java.

Meanwhile, some 60 ships, eight planes and four helicopters were deployed on Saturday to search for debris and remains of passengers from the ill-fated AirAsia flight QZ8501, according to the Indonesia National Search and Rescue Board (Basarnas).

Basarnas training and operation director SB Supriyadi said at the main command post at Pangkalan Bun on Saturday that the search area has been extended from 90x150 miles to 90x210 miles.

"So far, some 22 bodies have been evacuated," Supriyadi noted, adding that it remains unclear whether an object found at the bottom of the sea is the tail or body of the plane because rough seas and bad weather conditions hampered the search.

The AirAsia flight vanished from radar on Dec 28, 2014 while flying from Surabaya, East Java, to Singapore with 155 passengers and seven crew members aboard.

Of the 162 victims, 155 are Indonesians, three South Koreans, one British, one Singaporean and one Malaysian.

Thirty Bodies and plane debris have been recovered in the Java Sea, near Karimata Strait, some 95 nautical miles (Nm) from Pangkalan Bun in central Kalimantan, as recovery efforts continue amid harsh weather conditions in the Java Sea.

Strong wind, rains and huge waves reaching at a height of up to four meters often hamper the rescue operations.
(Uu.F001)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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