AirAsia QZ8501: Three more bodies identified

The QZ8501 press conference at Surabaya on Jan 11. (Photo: Sumisha Naidu)

SURABAYA: The bodies of South Korean couple Park Seong-beom and Lee Kyung-Hwa have been identified, as well as that of 19-year-old Indonesian passenger Vera Chandra Kho, announced Indonesia police in Surabaya at a press conference on Sunday (Jan 11).

However, police said the baby daughter of the South Koreans has not yet been identified, neither have they received any bodies of a 1-year-old child - the age of the Korean baby.

Police said they are in touch with the South Korean embassy who are discussing arrangements with the Korean couple's next-of-kin.

"The bodies of the parents for the meantime are being kept at the Bhayangkara Hospital, in cold storage at -20°C, while we await the decision of the next-of-kin on when they will be brought back to their country," said Head of East Java's Disaster Identification team Budiyono.

"It's still in discussion, there have been a few requests to wait until the baby is found. We will continue to try and accommodate the wants of the family."

A Korean Disaster Victim Identification team said they will stay on in Surabaya until the baby is found, as well as to help identify other Indonesian victims.

A total of 48 bodies have been recovered, with 32 bodies identified so far, said police. It is understood that the South Koreans are the first non-Indonesian passengers to be identified. There were six foreigners in total on the flight - three Koreans, a Briton, a Malaysian, and a Singaporean.

DENTAL RECORDS NEEDED

At the press conference, police urged families to inform them if their loved ones had ever been to a dentist.

Authorities said dental records are very important at this stage of the identification process, adding that they have contacted dentists themselves when families had not provided dental records.

Korean Lee Kyung-Hwa was identified using data such as dental records and also by items of clothing such as the maternity bra she was wearing.