January 1 (Sputnik) — Russian Emergencies Ministry has sent two planes with 72 rescuers for assistance in the search of AirAsia flight QZ8501, that crashed in the Java Sea, the ministry's representative stated Thursday.
"By the decision of the government of the Russian Federation at the request of the Indonesian side of the Russian Emergencies Ministry sends a rescue team to assist in the search and rescue operations in the crash area of the Malaysian Airbus," Alexander Drobyshevsky said.
On December 29, Drobyshevsky said that Russia had offered to assist Indonesia in its search for an AirAsia Airbus A320-200.
Air Asia Flight QZ8501 from Surabaya, Indonesia was heading to Singapore on Sunday when it vanished off radars about 40 minutes after the takeoff. On Tuesday, its debris and bodies of people who had been aboard were spotted scattered around in the Karimata Strait off the coast of Borneo.
