Singapore's vessels to join new search mission for AirAsia plane wreckage

Republic of Singapore Air Force personnel survey the waters during a search and locate operation for the missing AirAsia QZ8501 plane at an undisclosed search area December 30, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

SINGAPORE -- Given that wreckage of the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 has been located some 160 km southwest of the town of Pangkalan Bun in Central Kalimantan, Singapore Navy's three vessels decided to change its original search course and is expected to reach the new search location at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, local media reported.

The three vessels, RSS Supreme, RSS Valour and RSS Persistence, had planned to reach the search zone closer to the island of Beilitung to help with the search operation, said the Lianhe Zaobao newspaper.

The mission of the vessels are also likely to change, Channel NewsAsia said, adding that body bags and sanitizing equipment have been readied to retrieve bodies.

Another vessel, the MV Swift Rescue, departed Tuesday night and will join the operation once arrives. The submarine support and rescue vessel is equipped with sensors and sonars to detect signals from the plane's black box.