Russia Prepares 70 Personnel to Help Find AirAsia Black Boxes

Pangkalan Bun, C Kalimantan (Antara) -- Russia has prepared 70 personnel with different specializations equipped with sophisticated technology, as well as amphibious aircraft Beriev BE-2004C, to help search for the victims of the AirAsia flight and its black boxes. "Currently, 20 of our personnel are deployed, but we will return with 20 more from Jakarta and more later to make the total number of personnel to 70 or 72," Russian Vice Ambassador Alexander Shilin said at a press conference on his arrival here on Saturday. He stated that the RF-31121 Beriev BE-2004C amphibious aircraft, with all its technological equipment, has some 70 ways to track down the victims and wreckage of the ill-fated aircraft. Shilin added that the facilities the aircraft possesses include a sonar detector and a tiny submarine, which can conduct search operations at depths of up to 300 meters supported by 22 reliable divers. "Our main purpose of coming here is to find the black boxes of the AirAsia aircraft. We will start working on Sunday," he affirmed. AirAsia flight QZ8501 carrying 155 passengers and seven crew members on board lost contact with air traffic control while flying above the Java Sea from Surabaya to Singapore on Sunday, December 28. After days of searching for the whereabouts of the plane, search and rescue teams confirmed that the plane had crashed in the waters near Pangkalan Bun in Central Kalimantan. So far, the teams have found 30 bodies of the victims of the ill-fated AirAsia flight. Besides finding the bodies of the victims, joint search and rescue teams have also found debris of the aircraft and other objects. Furthermore, several foreign countries have also been involved in the search for the victims and wreckage of AirAsia QZ8501, including the U. S., Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia. (*) Reporting by Jaya Wirawana Manurung