Rescuers Recover Three AirAsia Victims Bodies, Identify Three More: Reports

BALI, January 4 (Sputnik) — Three bodies have been recovered from the Java Sea on the eighth day of search operations after AirAsia's flight QZ8501, and three more have been identified, local media reported Sunday.

"Today, we have concluded the identification process of the crash victims' bodies that we launched yesterday. As a result, we can identify three bodies," head of the national police medical service Arthur Tampi was cited as saying by the Indonesian Detik news website.

Three more bodies have been found and handed over to family members, bringing the total number up to 34, as reported by the news outlet.

According to East Java police head of public relations Awi Setiyono, forensic experts had already collected DNA samples from 128 of the AirAsia plane's 162 passengers and crew.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency reported that five large objects on the bottom of the sea had been detected by sonar equipment, the biggest measuring 18-by-5 meters (59-by-18 feet). Bad weather hampered closer inspection of the possible wreckage, where the remaining victims are believed to be strapped to their seats.

A multinational team of specialists, including over 70 Russian rescuers, is currently taking part in search operations at the suspected crash site. AirAsia's Airbus A320-200 crashed into the Java Sea on December 28, carrying 155 passengers and seven crew members. According to an initial report by Indonesia's meteorological agency, ice on the engine could have contributed to the plane's malfunction.