REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PANGKALAN BUN -- Some 14 bodies of the victims of AirAsia flight QZ8501, which crashed in waters near Pangkalan Bun area, have been evacuated to Sultan Imanuddin hospital, Director of hospital Dr. Sayuti Syamsul said here on Friday (2/1).

"The bodies will be flown to Surabaya any time from now," Sayuti added, noting that eight of the 14 bodies had already been flown to Surabaya city, East Java province, on Thursday (1/1)

AirAsia flight QZ8501 that departed from Surabaya for Singapore on Monday (Dec 28) morning had reportedly gone missing with 155 passengers and seven crew members on board.

The pilot had reportedly requested for an altitude change to avoid clouds shortly before the flight's disappearance, but had issued no distress signal, Reuters quoted the Indonesian Transport Ministry as saying during a press conference.

The plane is believed to have crashed in the Java Sea between Sumatra and Kalimantan islands.

During the ongoing search and rescue operations, a joint team led by Basarnas and several institutions such as the Air Force, Navy, Police, and several foreign ships, have so far discovered some debris, including an emergency exit door, and several bodies.

Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, the United States, China, India, South Korea, Japan, and Britain have lent their assistance in searching for the missing plane and any investigation into the accident.

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