At least 10 pieces of debris sighted off the coast of Borneo island may be linked to AirAsia’s missing jet, a Indonesia National Search and Rescue spokesman said Tuesday. Yusuf Latif said an Indonesian military aircraft spotted objects, including what appears to be a life jacket, about 105 miles south of Pangkalan Bun. The agency has deployed a team to retrieve the items for investigation at the search and rescue coordination post on Belitung Island.
Earlier Monday the U.S. announced it was sending the USS Sampson destroyer to join the at least 30 ships, 15 aircraft and seven helicopters involved in the search effort.
AirAsia flight QZ8501 disappeared during a flight from Indonesia’s Surabaya city to Singapore on Sunday, carrying 155 passengers including 16 children and seven crewmembers. The plane lost contact with air-traffic control over the Java Sea just after the pilot requested a change of flight plan because of poor weather conditions.
“This is the most significant finding, but we cannot confirm anything until the investigation is completed,” Latif said Tuesday. Read more.
{Andy Heller-Matzav.com Newscenter}
