AirAsia QZ8501: Malaysia sends eight forensic officers to assist in identifying victims

SEPANG: Malaysia has sent eight forensic officers to assist Indonesian authorities n identifying the victims of crashed Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ8501.

The team, led by SAC Narenasagaran Thangaveloo and ACP Hussein Omar Khan departed KLIA2 at 9.25am and arrived in Surabaya on Tuesday afternoon.

Federal crime investigation department (CID) director Datuk Seri Mohmad Salleh said once there, the team would either be directed to Pengkalan Bun or remained in Surabaya, under the Indonesian-led investigation.

Six officers left Kuala Lumpur Tuesday, while another two will depart on Wednesday.

The team consists of divers, fingerprint experts and a photographer.

"Our team had been on standby since Day one of the AirAsia incident.

“In the spirit of Aseanapol (ASEAN National Police), we offered our services to our Indonesian counterparts five-days ago and they gladly accepted.

"For the time being our team will be in Indonesia for a month.

“It depends on what Indonesia needs, if they need help in other areas, we will try and render the maximum help we can to our neighbours," Mohmad told reporters in KLIA2.

He added that the team had Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) experience, having helped identify victims from the MH17 crash in Ukraine last year, as well as the Acheh victims in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Flight QZ8501 crashed in the Java Sea near Pangkalan Bun in central Kalimantan while flying 155 passengers and seven crew members from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore on Dec 28.