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Search Operation Resumes at AirAsia Plane Crash Cite

© REUTERS / Darren WhitesideAn Indonesian Search and Rescue helicopter carrying the bodies of two AirAsia passengers recovered from the sea prepares to land at the airport in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan, December 31, 2014
An Indonesian Search and Rescue helicopter carrying the bodies of two AirAsia passengers recovered from the sea prepares to land at the airport in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan, December 31, 2014 - Sputnik International
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Search and rescue operation was resumed early on Sunday morning in the area of the Java Sea, where AirAsia plane, carrying 155 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the Java Sea on December 28.

A search and rescue squad from the Indonesian Airforce prepare to depart on a Puma helicopter to take part in the search for the missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501, from a base in Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan - Sputnik International
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BALI, January 4 (Sputnik) — Search and rescue operation was resumed early on Sunday morning in the area of the Java Sea, where AirAsia plane crashed on December 28.

According to Detik.com news portal, the weather in the area of the operation remains cloudy, however, the height of the waves reduced to two-three meters (about 6-9 feet). The speed of the underwater current in the Karimata Strait, where earlier on Saturday the rescue workers found two large fragments of the aircraft, is three knots.

The chief of Indonesia's search and rescue agency (Basarnas) Henry Bambang Sulistyo said that the high speed of the water flow became the main obstacle for using a remotely operated underwater vehicle, which located the plane's fragments on Saturday, as it is constantly drifts the vehicle aside.

Indonesian officials believe the search operation is close to a major breakthrough on Sunday, hoping a break in the weather will give them a chance to find the plane's black boxes and recover more bodies.

"Weather should provide the search effort with a window of opportunity today, with lower waves expected for the next two days," said Rukman Soleh, weather bureau chief in Pangkalan Bun, the southern Borneo town where the search operation is based, according to Reuters.

An Indonesian Search and Rescue helicopter carrying the bodies of two AirAsia passengers recovered from the sea prepares to land at the airport in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan, December 31, 2014 - Sputnik International
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A Russian team of more than 70 divers and search experts arrived in Jakarta on Friday and joined the search mission on Saturday after a request from Indonesian authorities.

The team arrived to the country with an Il-76 airlifter, a Be-200 amphibious aircraft and high-tech search equipment, including the remote-controlled Folkon deepwater vehicle, designed to operate at depths of up to 1,000 meters (3280 feet).

AirAsia's Airbus A320-200, carrying 155 passengers and seven crew members, crashed into the Java Sea on December 28. A multinational team of specialists is currently taking part in the search operation at the suspected crash site, having recovered 30 bodies so far.

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