News Digest

30 AirAsia crash victims recovered as seabed scoured for wreckage

The bodies of 30 AirAsia crash victims have now been recovered from the sea as rescuers continue to scour the seabed for wreckage. Some of the bodies were discovered still strapped into their aircraft seats, according to officials involved in the search. Among the victims recovered were two children, according to reports. So far only four have been identified and their bodies returned to their families. There are now 65 ships, 14 planes and 19 helicopters involved in the search and rescue mission, six days after flight QZ8501 disappeared from radar screens over the Java Sea with 162 people on board.

There was something like a dark shadow once seen from a plane, but it cannot yet be proven as wreckage.

Indonesia air force spokesman Rear Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto

The commander of one of the Indonesian naval ships involved in the search said the tail of the plane had been sighted at a depth of 29m. The Singaporean defence minister Ng Eng Hen posted pictures of window panels recovered from the sea on his Facebook page on Friday morning. Sonar equipment and metal detectors are being used to try to discover the black box, which will help investigators establish what caused the plane to smash into the sea.