REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI) Gen. Moeldoko will award soldiers who participated in the search for the wreckage or black box of AirAsia flight QZ8501, which crashed in Karimata Strait late last year.

"The awards will be in the form of extraordinary rank promotions," he said at the TNI Headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Tuesday.

These promotions will be given to personnel who gave priority to their duties over their safety during search efforts that entailed high risks, Moeldoko remarked.

"It is reasonable for a leader who has seen his men doing great work to promote them to higher ranks," he stated.

When questioned about the statement made by the chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) on stopping the search for the bodies of AirAsia crash victims, the TNI commander noted that the military may use its armament system to continue the search for the bodies of the passengers.

"We are prepared to continue the search for the victims," he affirmed.

Furthermore, Moeldoko expressed hope that his men would be able to discover and lift the plane's cockpit voice recorder in one to two days' time.

Divers of the Indonesian Navy managed to retrieve the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) of the black box of AirAsia flight QZ8501. The FDR was handed over to the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) in Jakarta for investigation.

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