Bedlam has broken out at Surabaya’s Juanda International Airport,
after Indonesian TV aired images of what appeared to be a dead body and
aircraft debris floating in the Java Sea that were seen by relatives of
passengers from the missing AirAsia Flight QZ 8501.
The
relatives had been gathering at the airport, hoping for news of the
Singapore-bound plane, which took off early Sunday morning with 162
passengers and crew on board and disappeared 42 minutes into the flight.
Air Asia later confirmed that the debris that was seen in the broadcast was that of the missing plane. “AirAsia
Indonesia regrets to inform that The National Search and Rescue Agency
Republic of Indonesia today confirmed that the debris found earlier
today is indeed from QZ8501, the flight that had lost contact with air
traffic control on the morning of 28th December 2014,” the airline said
in a statement. “The debris of the aircraft was found in the Karimata
Strait around 110 nautical miles south west from Pangkalan Bun.”
Tony Fernandes, group chief executive
officer of AirAsia, added: “I am absolutely devastated. This is a very
difficult moment for all of us at AirAsia as we await further
developments of the search and rescue operations but our first priority
now is the well-being of the family members of those on board QZ8501.”
Earlier, when graphic news images of a body were shown on TV screens
set up in family waiting areas, dozens burst into hysterical wailing. At
least two people fainted and were carried out to waiting ambulances.
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