QZ8501: Three more bodies identified as search enters Day 10

As search operations for the ill-fated AirAsia QZ8501 enters its tenth day, personnel from the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) have identified three more bodies after endless hours of scouring the Java Sea in search of victims from the Dec 28 crash.

Of the 37 bodies sent to the Bhayangkara Hospital in Surabaya, 16 bodies have been successfully identified to date, said East Java Chief Police Commissioner Budiyono.

The victims are Indra Yulianto, 51, Hindarto Halim, 61 and Jou Brian Youvito, 19.

Several means of identification methods were used by the DVI squad. Yulianto and Hindarto were identified through the post-mortem and antemortem data retrieved from the CCTV at the Juanda International Airport in Singapore on Dec 28.

Meanwhile, Jou Brian Youvito’s remain was identified from a dental checkup card, university ID tag and ATM cards found in his pants.

[PHOTO GALLERY]: QZ8501: MORE BODIES, WRECKAGE FOUND

All three victims were handed over to their respective families for funerals.

Of the 162 passengers and crew on board, 155 were Indonesian, with three South Koreans, one Singaporean, one Malaysian, one Briton and a Frenchman -- co-pilot Remi Plesel.

The Airbus A320-200 crashed during a storm en route from Indonesia's city Surabaya to Singapore, and relief workers are laboriously hunting for flight data recorders to determine the cause of the crash.

Earlier today, AFP reported that efforts are still being made to locate the "black box" flight data recorders which are deemed crucial to determining the cause of the crash. To date, the teams have located five major parts of the plane on the seabed including a "suspected tail" -- where flight recorders are usually housed.