Headlines
New attempt to lift AirAsia wreckage fails
Jakarta, Jan 26
A new attempt to lift the
submerged fuselage of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 failed when a wire rope
snapped after the wreckage reached the surface of the water, Indonesian
officials said.
"The fuselage appeared at the surface, but the
rope broke and it fell down again," said Suryadi B. Supriyadi, director
of operations and training for Indonesia's search and rescue agency, CNN
reported.
A previous effort to the raise the wreckage Saturday
was also foiled when sharp parts of the debris sliced through a strap
connecting the fuselage to a giant balloon, the search agency said.
Officials are trying to float the 13-meter piece of wreckage to the surface and then hoist it onto a waiting ship.
But
strong winds, high waves and heavy rain prevented the Indonesian Navy
divers from having another go Sunday at raising the fuselage, officials
said.
Divers successfully carried out a similar procedure with the tail section of the aircraft earlier this month.
Flight
QZ8501 went down in the Java Sea Dec 28 as it flew from the Indonesian
city of Surabaya toward Singapore with 162 people on board.
As
the fuselage neared the surface Sunday, one body appeared in the water
and was retrieved, the military said. It's the 70th recovered so far
during weeks of searching.