As families of the victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 continue to lament over the expected delay on search and rescue operations, Indonesian officials confirm that several bodies have already been recovered from the crash site. BBC News reports that two more bodies were found on Thursday, bringing the number to nine, including that of Hayati Lutfiah Hamid.
Hamid, a 49-year-old woman, was laid to rest in Surabaya in Indonesia on a New Year and was attended by her family and friends, according to BBC News. She is the first identified victim of the horrendous incident, reveals the International Business Times.
Hamid's identity was confirmed by Commander Budiyono, the East Java Police's Disaster and Victim Identification (DVI) Division Head, who said that her "fingerprints, as well as scars from surgery, matched the ante-mortem data and information", according to a report by Jakarta Post.
In a press conference held in Surabaya, Budiyono seemed certain about the identity of their find as they found more evidence to prove it: "An ID card with the name Hayati Luftiah was also found in the clothes of the body labeled B001 when the search and rescue team found it. She was also wearing a necklace with her initial on it and a bracelet that family members confirmed belonged to Hayati", shares the Jakarta Post.
According to various reports, her body was recovered from the Karimata Strait on Thursday.
An Airbus A320-200 carrying 162 passengers was winging the route to Singapore from Indonesia last Sunday when, according to analysts, it went down and smashed into the waters of Java Sea, and had gone missing for several days. Wreckage only appeared on Tuesday.
Hamid's remains were handed over to her relatives in a short rite at a hospital in Surabaya. BBC News reports that her coffin was brought to a village before being laid to rest in conformity to Islamic burial customs.
One of Hamid's relatives confessed that the whole family is saddled by anxiety as three more family members are still missing up to this moment.
Meanwhile, rages from relatives and concerned citizens bark at AirAsia for not having enough caution for safeguards. And this is aside from the delay in the search and rescue operations because of bad weather conditions despite Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia rallying round for reinforcement. Sea conditions are just as violent, making it extremely difficult to carry out the searching.
"It's possible the bodies are in the fuselage", search and rescue coordinator Sunarbowo Sand told BBC News. He adds that "it's a race now between time and weather."
Until the weather improves, families and relatives will have yet to prolong the agony as new cues remain elusive at this time.
As of Friday morning, there are a total of 16 bodies recovered from the crash site, six of whom were found by the US Navy Ship, Yahoo News reports.
Take a glimpse of Hamid's painful reunion to her family:
