Search for AirAsia Victims to Resume Saturday Without Indonesian Navy

The hunt for the remaining 92 victims of the AirAsia crash will resume later this week despite Indonesia's armed forces withdrawing from the search on Tuesday. So far, 70 bodies have been recovered in the Java Sea.

MOSCOW, January 28 (Sputnik) – The search for the remaining 92 victims of the AirAsia flight QZ8501 is expected to resume on Saturday, even though it was previously reported that the Indonesian military withdrew from the search, Sidney Morning Herald (SMH) reports.

According to Bambang Soelistyo, the head of the National Search and Rescue Agency, rescue teams will rest for a few days before continuing the search on Saturday. Then, after another seven days of search the agency, known as Basarnas, will decide whether to halt or continue the search, SMH says.

On Tuesday, Indonesia’s armed forces officially stopped the search for the remaining passengers.

Search teams have so far recovered 70 bodies in the Java Sea; however, another 92 bodies remain unaccounted for.

Soelistyo said the search teams will focus on finding the remaining bodies, rather than the fuselage of the plane, SMH reports.

AirAsia flight QZ8501 went down on December 28 during a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore. All 162 people on board died.