(2 Jan 2015) A helicopter from the USS Sampson brought eight bodies recovered from the AirAsia plane that crashed in the Java Sea to the Indonesian town of Pangkalan Bun on Friday.
The USS Sampson transported the bodies to Bandar Udara Iskandar Airport, on the outskirts of the town.
"At first we thought only four bodies would arrive, but they brought in eight, so we are thankful to the Americans," said Suryadi B. Supriyadi, Operations Director at Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency.
The bodies of 30 AirAsia crash victims have now been recovered, some belted in seats, an Indonesian official told local television station MetroTV.
The Airbus A320 crashed halfway into a flight from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, to Singapore.
Minutes earlier, the pilot told air-traffic control he was approaching threatening clouds, but was denied permission to climb to a higher altitude because of heavy air traffic.
There were 162 people on board, mostly Indonesians.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
