5th object suspected from AirAsia QZ8501 found: official

JAKARTA - Indonesia search and rescue teams have located a fifth large object on the seabed, agency chief Fransiskus Bambang Soelistyo said on Sunday.

Soelistyo said at a press conference held in Jakarta that the object, 9.8 meters long, 1.1 meters wide, and 0.4 meter high has been located on the seabed at 3 am on Sunday, adding that nine ships have been sent to the area to continue the search.

The latest finding has made the total number of objects detected to five, as four others were found on Saturday. The biggest one among them measures 18 meters long.

AirAsia flight 8501 crashed into the Java Sea last Sunday while en route from Indonesia's Surabaya to Singapore with 162 people on board. Weather could be a triggering factor behind the accident, as suggested in a preliminary analysis report by Indonesia's meteorological department on Sunday.

The Flight recorder, popularly known as "black box" is yet to be found, as ships with special equipment are still conducting underwater detection, said Soelityo, adding that the National Search and Rescue Agency plays a supportive role in finding the crucial part which is important for future investigation.

So far, 31 corpses have been recovered by multinational search and rescue forces, 30 of which have been transported to Surabaya for identification, said Soelistyo.