QZ8501: Tough weather condition hampers fifth day of SAR mission

The Search and Rescue (SAR) mission of the AirAsia flight QZ8501 which entered into its fifth day on Thursday is expected to be tough based on the rough sea and weather condition.

Malaysian Chief of Navy Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar via his Twitter handle stated that the visibility was limited to only five nautical miles.

#QZ8501: Another photo from KD Lekiu showing the sea condition that hampers the smooth search operation. pic.twitter.com/LEntk2uYBt
— Abdul Aziz Jaafar (@ChiefofNavy) January 1, 2015

Abdul Aziz had earlier informed that the search area which was set for KD Pahang is at Sector 2 while KD Lekir and Lekiu is at Sector 4.

#QZ8501: Allocation of assets for new search area as shown. KD PHG in Sector II, LKR and LKU in Sector IV. pic.twitter.com/l7kjazQGBX
— Abdul Aziz Jaafar (@ChiefofNavy) January 1, 2015

Abdul Aziz also informed that a helicopter had been provided by KD Lekiu for rescue mission at the designated sectors.

#QZ8501: Fennec Helicopter being prepared by KD Lekiu for air surveillance in the area. pic.twitter.com/AU6iZo0T7y
— Abdul Aziz Jaafar (@ChiefofNavy) January 1, 2015

He added that the search area had also been widened to 13,500 nautical miles on Thursday compared to 6,160 nautical miles on Wednesday.

#QZ8501: Search area has been expanded to 13,500sqnm (150x90nm). The search area yesterday was 6,160sqnm. pic.twitter.com/2CWUjvdY3E
— Abdul Aziz Jaafar (@ChiefofNavy) January 1, 2015

The northern sector has been divided into two sectors which are monitored by the Navy.

The sector which is located nearest to Pontianak, Kalimantan meanwhile is monitored by the Republic of Singapore Navy.