REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- At least 2.2 million liters of solar diesel fuel have been used in efforts towards finding AirAsia flight QZ8501, a spokesperson for the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said.
After a hearing with Commission V of the House of Representatives (DPR), Chief of the Basarnas F. H. B. Soelistyo stated here on Tuesday that the search and rescue team also spent at least 179,000 liters of avtur (jet fuel) and 3,000 liters of premium, besides the 2.2 million liters of diesel fuel, in its seventeen days of operations. "Those are the amounts we have used up till today," he affirmed.
The fuel, Soelistyo added, was allocated using the Basarnas' internal budget, in addition to some aid from the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKK Migas) and other oil companies.
The Basarnas has been supported with 3,500 kiloliters of fuel from the SKK Migas for its efforts towards the AirAsia aircraft, which went missing in the waters of Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan province, on December 28.
"We were assisted by the SKK Migas and other companies, which provided us some 3,500 kiloliters of fuel in total. It was delivered to us. I signed it," he pointed out.
However, the Basarnas chief informed legislators that he had not calculated the total budget allocated for the search operations so far as they are still ongoing.
"It is part of our principles that all assistance be recorded. I will be transparent with regard to both the budget allocation and the fuel report. I will deliver the report in time," he assured, adding that the main search operations will be stopped in three or four days.
"After three or four days, we will announce our decision regarding continuing the search for the AirAsia aircraft," he remarked.
The Basarnas had proposed two options---the first was that daily operations be assisted by foreign help, and the second was carrying out their task without foreign forces but with the involvement of the Indonesian Military.
The AirAsia Airbus A320-200, carrying 162 people, went missing on December 28 morning after losing contact with air traffic control on its way from Surabaya, East Java, to Singapore.
The Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ8501 lost contact after the pilot requested to climb to 38 thousand feet from 32 thousand feet to avoid stormy weather over the sea between Bangka Belitung and West Kalimantan.
The aircraft was carrying 155 passengers and seven crew members. It took off from the Juanda International Airport in Surabaya at 5.36 a. m. local time and lost contact with the Jakarta air traffic control at 6.17 a. m. local time.
The plane, piloted by Captain Iriyanto and First Officer (FO) Remi Emmanuel Plesel, was scheduled to arrive in Singapore at 8.30 a. m. local time.
Seven foreigners were among the passengers of the missing jet, including the French FO. The other foreign nationals comprised three Koreans, a Singaporean, a Briton, and a Malaysian.
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