Air Asia: Indonesian authorities give up search

(Baonghean.vn) - On Tuesday, March 17, Indonesian authorities said the search for the bodies of victims and the remains of the Air Asia plane that crashed in the Java Sea on December 28 will stop completely.

The plane was carrying 162 passengers and crew when it crashed. Search teams say 56 bodies have yet to be found. Four search vessels “returned to Jakarta on Wednesday morning,” sources said. “We agree with the families that the search cannot continue indefinitely,” said Tony Fernandes, head of budget airline Indonesia.

Rescue teams recover one of the wreckage of the Airbus A320-300 on March 2, 2015. Photo: AFP/Adek Berry

Since the crash, many foreign countries have sent their aircraft and ships to help Indonesia search for victims' bodies and the remains of the ill-fated plane. However, with the withdrawal of foreign vessels, the intensity of the search has decreased in recent weeks.

On December 28, the Airbus A320, flight number QZ8501, disappeared from radar screens after requesting to climb to avoid dangerous clouds. The plane, which was carrying 162 passengers, was departing from Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city, to Singapore. According to information retrieved from the black box, the Airbus A320 had suddenly climbed to a higher altitude – quite unusual for a civil aircraft – before crashing into the sea.

Chu Thanh– according to Le Monde March 17