– First funeral –
The first funeral took place Thursday afternoon after one of the bodies was formally identified as a woman named Hayati Lutfiah Hami, and was handed over to her family in Surabaya.
After prayers at her home, the coffin was taken for burial at a Muslim cemetery nearby, with more than a hundred neighbours in attendance.
“I am grateful to God that my sister-in-law was found and I hope the rescuers find the others as soon as possible,” Agung Wahyu Darmono, 38, said.
Police said they were still working on formal identification of one young man.
A crisis centre for identifying the victims has been set up at a hospital in Surabaya with facilities to store 150 bodies.
AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes said Thursday the search appeared to be closing in on its final location.
“I am hoping that the latest information is correct and aircraft has been found. Please all hope together. This is so important,” Fernandes said on Twitter.
It was not clear what his source was and the Indonesian naval commander heading the international search fleet was more cautious.
“We cannot be sure,” of the exact location, First Admiral Rasyid Kacong, commander of the warship KRI Banda Aceh, told AFP.
“The plan is we want some divers to embark on the Banda Aceh. Then we can go to the suspected location,” he said.
“I can only be sure that it is a plane after we dive. We are also looking for the black boxes.”
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