Malaysia assists Indonesia in identifying flight QZ8501 victims

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia has sent eight forensic officers to assist the Indonesian authorities in identifying the victims of crashed AirAsia flight QZ8501, according to officials sources on Tuesday.

Six officers left Kuala Lumpur Tuesday, while another two will depart on Wednesday. The team consists of divers, fingerprint experts and a photographer.

Federal crime investigation department (CID) director Mohmad Salleh told local reporters that the team had been on standby since day one of the AirAsia incident.

"In the spirit of Aseanapol (ASEAN National Police), we offered our services to our Indonesian counterparts five days ago and they gladly accepted," he said.

He added that the team has Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) experience, having helped identify victims from the MH17 crash in Ukraine last year, as well as the Acheh victims in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Flight QZ8501 crashed in the Java Sea near Pangkalan Bun in central Kalimantan while flying 155 passengers and seven crew members from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore on Dec 28.