Four more bodies and a fifth large object belonging to the crashed AirAsia jet were retrieved from the Java Sea today as rescuers battled bad weather in their efforts to reach the fuselage believed to contain the remaining victims besides the crucial black box.
Searchers continued their hunt for more bodies and the wreckage of the Singapore-bound AirAsia Flight QZ8501 carrying 162 people for the eighth day, even as Indonesia's meteorological agency said extreme bad weather was the "triggering factor" behind the crash.
At least four more bodies were recovered today, taking the total count to 34. Singapore navy vessel RSS Persistence had recovered one body, while US navy ship USS Sampson had brought three more back to the Indonesian town of Pangkalan Bun.
A pinger locator was deployed today to find the black box of the plane to determine the cause of the fatal crash.
A fifth object, measuring 9.8 metres by 1.1 metres, was located on the seabed, search and rescue chief Bambang Soelistyo said.
The developments come a day after four large metal objects were located on the seabed amid reports that the plane was flying on an unauthorised schedule when it crashed.
There were hopes the weather would improve today, but conditions once again hampered efforts to find the plane's main wreckage.
Dozens of divers from Indonesia and Russia have been deployed to the search area, which has been enlarged to allow for tides sweeping bodies and debris further afield.
They attempted to survey more of the seabed today but "visibility at the sea bottom was zero," Soelistyo said.
Remotely operated cameras were also being used to try to photograph the objects, but waves up to 5 metres high and strong currents made their use difficult.
National Search and Rescue deputy chief Tatang Zainudin said: "We are racing with time and weather in running this mission."
Officials believe many of the remaining 128 passengers and crew are still strapped to their seats and efforts have focussed on locating the fuselage of the ill-fated Airbus A320-200.
There were 20 aircraft and 27 ships deployed today for combing the waters for the victims and wreckage of the aircraft, officials from Indonesia's national search and rescue agency BASARNAS said.
According to a report on the website of Indonesia's meteorological agency BMKG, weather was the "triggering factor" in the crash.
