No mass funeral for AirAsia QZ8501 victims - Chief Police

According to its Chief General Sutarman, all victims will be identified before their families can claim the bodies.

Sutarman was speaking to the families of flight QZ8501 victims where sternly disputed extensive media report regarding the alleged 'mass funeral'.

“I will ensure all victims retrieved will be identifiedm too. No way, the mass funeral will occur as what was reported by the media, the news is hoax and the public should not take heed of it,” said Sutarman, during a press conference held at the Police Operation Centre (POLDA) in East Java, today.

Sutarman has urged the victims' families to be patient as identification process remains delicate and requires long hours due to stringent investigation process.

“If there are organs available, it will be faster, if there are only bones (left), we need longer time to process. There are the antamortem data available and we are certain that the identification process will be coherent and accurate,” he added.

A total of 260 personnel from the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) have been tasked to identify the victims’ remains. It has been reported that forensics experts from Singapore, Australia, South Korea and Saudi Arabia will be joining the team soon.

On a more personal note, Sutarman also apologised to the family members for the imminent delay in the identification process.

The identification process, he clarified is not done in Pangkalan Bun.

At approximately 2pm (local time), Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Ahmad Yani Street, Surabaya has received 34 victims’ bodies. Of this number, nine victims have been surrendered to the respective families.

On Sunday, Indonesia's Istiqlal Mosque Grand Imam Ali Mustafa Yakub reportedly said that the victims' bodies which have suffered extensive decay and deemed unrecognisable can be left to submerge in the ocean.