REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PANGKALAN BUN -- Indonesian military chief Gen. Moeldoko will supervise the process of lifting the tail part of the ill-fated AirAsia aircraft from the seabed off Pangkalan Bun in Central Kalimantan.
"I will lead myself the process of lifting the aircraft tail, where the black box is kept. Hopefully the process could be completed immediately," the general said upon arrival on Thursday morning at the Iskandar airport of Pangkalan Bun.
The tail of the Airbus A320-200 aircraft that crashed in the sea with 162 people on board has been spotted after almost two weeks of searching.
All people on board including seven crew members are feared killed in the accident when it was en route from East Java's Surabaya to Singapore on Dec 28, 2014.
Moeldoko and group would use a Bell helicopter of the Air Force and Dauphin of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas).
They would then board the warship KRI Banda Aceh and Mahakarya Geo Survey (MGS) ship to monitor the process of lifting the rear part of the aircraft.
He said the search and rescue work would likely be hampered by bad weather blurring the vision underwater.
"In addition we have problem in the lifting equipment. The equipment has only a lifting capacity of 10 tons. Currently we are seeking to bring in a pontoon vessel from Semarang," he said.
Head of the meteorology office at the Iskandar airport Lukman Soleh said the weather was relatively conducive on Thursday in the location.
"But the sea waves are still high at 1.25 - 1.5 meters and the sea current is 10 cm to 20 cm per second," Lukman added.
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