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AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, Pool

Search area expanded as divers continue recovery of AirAsia victims

They will also be searching for the plane’s black box.

INDONESIAN SEARCH OFFICIALS have sent divers down to the bed of the Java Sea during a break in bad weather in hopes of recovering more bodies from the wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501.

Strong currents forced Indonesia to expand the search area for victims as efforts to reach the wreckage and black boxes beneath the sea became increasingly difficult.

Recovery teams, hampered by rough seas, have found fewer than 40 bodies since the plane crashed on 28 December, carrying 162 people from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

“Some divers have started to dive to the seabed,” search and rescue agency chief Bambang Soelistyo told reporters on the tenth day of the major search involving several countries.

The recovery teams have yet to find the black box flight data recorders, crucial to determining the cause of the crash, although they have located five major parts of the plane on the seabed including a “suspected tail” — where flight recorders are usually housed.

The operation has prioritised finding the bodies of the victims, all but seven of whom were Indonesian. Some bodies were found still strapped into their seats.

Indonesia Plane Members of the National Search And Rescue Agency and Indonesian soldiers carry the coffins of the victims who were aboard the AirAsia Flight 8501 to transfer them to Surabaya at the airport in Pangkalan Bun. AP Photo / Tatan Syuflana AP Photo / Tatan Syuflana / Tatan Syuflana

The number recovered still stood at 37 on Tuesday, another search official, S.B. Supriyadi, told AFP from Pangkalan Bun, a town on Borneo island with the nearest airstrip to the wreckage.

Recovery teams have recently expanded the area of sea being combed for bodies and wreckage, believing bodies may have drifted in strong currents.

Indonesia has also ordered the suspension of aviation officials involved in the departure of the flight. It says the crash happened when AirAsia was flying on an unauthorised schedule.

Indonesia Plane A U.S. Navy rubber boat seen during the search operation. AP Photo / Achmad Ibrahim, Pool AP Photo / Achmad Ibrahim, Pool / Achmad Ibrahim, Pool

AirAsia Indonesia, a unit of Malaysia-based AirAsia, has already been suspended from flying the Surabaya-Singapore route — although Singapore officials said they had given permission for the flight at their end.

Indonesia’s transport ministry also promised action against any domestic airlines violating their flying permits.

Indonesia’s meterological agency BMKG has said weather was the “triggering factor” of the crash, with ice likely damaging the plane’s engines.

© AFP 2015, additional reporting by The Associated Press

Read: Icy weather likely “triggering factor” of AirAsia crash >

More: Woman found out her brother was on the AirAsia flight from a selfie >

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    Mute 087 bed
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    Jul 24th 2024, 12:45 PM

    Makes no difference who you vote for, You still get the WEF government

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    Mute Vincent Alexander
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    Jul 24th 2024, 1:12 PM

    @087 bed: WEF? – World Economic Forum?

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    Mute 9QRixo8H
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    Jul 24th 2024, 1:16 PM

    @087 bed: see https://conspiracychart.com for all things NWO, chemtrails, chipping, and replacement theories.

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    Mute 087 bed
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    Jul 24th 2024, 1:36 PM

    @9QRixo8H: Are you a qualified tool or still an apprentice, All you do here is push disinformation in the comments.

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    Mute Dominic Leleu
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    Jul 24th 2024, 12:24 PM

    I wonder if the same secret service would protect Netanyahou…. That could solve a lot of problems

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    Mute Alan
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    Jul 24th 2024, 12:31 PM

    @Dominic Leleu: and potential assassins should be vetted by the NRA to ensure a more positive outcome. Might be an idea to invite putin, xi, orban and others

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    Mute Dominic Leleu
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    Jul 24th 2024, 12:31 PM

    @Alan: agreed

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    Mute Andrew Kiely
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    Jul 24th 2024, 12:22 PM

    When thinking about Simon Coveney , this a verbatim quote
    Owning your own home is not a bad aspiration, but if there was more certainty in the rental market in Ireland, you would see more people choosing to rent and to invest in rental property,” said Coveney.

    “The attitude towards long-term rental is changing in Ireland and we need to respond to that with market conditions that reinforce and encourage that change of mindset.”

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    Mute Kevin Kerr
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    Jul 24th 2024, 12:52 PM

    @Andrew Kiely: what’s your point?

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    Mute SV3tN8M4
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    Jul 24th 2024, 1:20 PM

    @SYaxJ2Ts: His point is, that Coveney’s prophecy, hope & implementation of same came through in Govt policy & is part of the problem today. It wouldn’t affect you Kevin as a Govt lackey on a big salary, but it affects thousands of young working Irish people who are paying extortionate rent & who can’t buy or afford a home in Ireland today.

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    Mute Kevin Kerr
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    Jul 24th 2024, 1:26 PM

    @SV3tN8M4: context is key here, and I don’t know when this quote is from, but surely certainty in the rental market is a good thing, albeit aspirational rather than real? You know, some security of tenure, rent certainty, that kind of thing. Anything to add here? Or are you just going to sling insults

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    Mute Kevin Kerr
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    Jul 24th 2024, 1:33 PM

    @SV3tN8M4: and any chance of backing up your claim from yesterday that SF will introduce sleight of hand legislation to increase granting of asylum applications? I’ve asked twice already. Surely you’ve managed to find the relevant evidence by now

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    Mute Peter Byrne
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    Jul 24th 2024, 1:37 PM

    @SV3tN8M4: I suppose all those people the Gardai have charged were all working very hard to buy a house and provide for their families. Most of them staying in the city centre at the taxpayers cost

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    Mute SV3tN8M4
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    Jul 24th 2024, 6:52 PM

    @Peter Byrne: Wouldn’t know Peter, don’t have anything to do with them, too busy working trying to make ends meet & pay my mortgage. You must be a happy man today that you & your buddies got a top up of 750,000, you might get your bumper Exit package & NDA now. Harris likes to reward Deceit & Incompetence, some of those in your organization are no better than those you judged above.

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    Mute Antony Stack
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    Jul 24th 2024, 9:04 PM

    @Andrew Kiely:
    I’ve just spent a week in Metz France.
    As in other European cities all accommodation within the city is in apartments. Apartments cannot be used for property speculation. If an apartment is unoccupied for an extended period it has to be sold back to the freehold company (owners association).

    If you want to live in a house – to go to a village 10 -20 km out.

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    Mute mickey mac
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    Jul 24th 2024, 2:24 PM

    Buttimer has repeatedly been rejected by the cork electorate, and now finally by his own party. Maybe this time the penny will drop

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    Mute Uí Braonáin
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    Jul 24th 2024, 3:11 PM

    @mickey mac: Once Fine Gael learned that Buttimer was attending pro-Palestinian events that was end for him.

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    Mute SV3tN8M4
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    Jul 24th 2024, 6:54 PM

    @mickey mac: He is left there for Tokenistic reasons by Fine Gael.

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    Mute Antony Stack
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    Jul 24th 2024, 1:58 PM

    Simon Coveney looked well, which is important in politics. But after that he lacked leadership. He fronted up the ‘ same-s marriage’ referendum by parroting the party line and adding in his own daughters. One of them might be that way.

    Fair point but not compelling. let them have all the rights of marriage, but call it something else. Marriage always meant man and woman.

    Neologisms are used every day to overturn the established order.
    For example – gender was a grammatical term to distinguish three different forms of a noun. Male and female got into it because they were two obvious categories. But there was never a case of an obvious male having a female noun form or visa versa.
    Generally a neuter gender noun is a noun that denotes a lifeless thing. A thing which is neither male nor female.

    But as anyone who learned French knows a pen and a pencil have different genders even though they both are technically neuter.
    La plume de ma tante
    Le crayon de ma tante

    In fact there is no neuter gender in French. An omission which the French chattering class are struggling to cope with.

    Anyhow this is a long way from Simon Coveney – other than to point out that weak leaders are easily pushed into fronting up anything which a mob (nowadays a Twitter mob) wants.

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    Mute Diarmuid
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    Jul 24th 2024, 12:58 PM

    There is certainly a FG seat in Cork SC, especially as it’s now a 5 seater. Going to a battle royal between Úna McCarthy and Shane O Callaghan to whose ahead after the first count. That’s vital. As it’s extremely unlikely both will get elected

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