Jakarta (Antara Babel) - The tail section of AirAsia flight QZ8501 was successfully lifted from the seabed on Saturday, Chief of Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) F. H. Bambang Soelistyo said.
"We would like to take this opportunity to thank Military Chief General Moeldoko," Soelistyo he said during a press briefing on the latest development of Basarnas' search mission here Saturday.
The ill-fated aircraft's tail section was discovered by a number of divers of the Indonesian Navy on January 7, but it was successfully retrieved from the seabed using lifting balloons tied to it on Saturday, he affirmed.
Once it was retrieved, the tail section was then handed over to the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), Soelistyo stated, adding that General Moeldoko was involved in supervising the lifting of the aircraft's part.
Search efforts to recover bodies of the victims and spot the fuselage of the aircraft have been hampered by bad weather and high waves since the day the passenger jet crashed.
The airplane crashed with 162 people on board on December 28.
