AirAsia QZ8501: Search teams 'find two large objects'

January 03, 2015 10:40

Two large metal objects have been found in the search for the AirAsia airliner in the Java Sea, Indonesian officials said on Saturday, even as continuing bad weather held back efforts to hunt for the plane's data recorders.

The objects were found at the bottom of the sea near Pangkalan Bun, head of Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency, Bambang Soelistyo, said.

Soelistyo told reporters that the two objects represent the main part of the Airbus A320 that lost contact with air-traffic control on Sunday morning with 162 people on board. Oil spills have also been detected in the area.

"With the oil slick that we found and the discovery of the two big objects, I can confirm that this is the big part of the AirAsia plane we have been looking for all this time," Soelistyo said, adding that a remotely operated vehicle would be sent to take pictures of the objects, though rough weather is hampering the deployment.

He said that the first object appeared to be more than 9 meters long, and the other was more than 7 meters long.

The objects were found close to each other around 11 pm local time on Friday in a priority area of the wider search zone, he said.

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