An Indonesian search and rescue official has now said none of the recovered victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 were wearing a life jacket, despite being quoted earlier as saying one had been.
"There is no victim that has been found wearing a life jacket," Tatang Zaenudin, the search and rescue operations chief, told Reuters. "We found a body at 8:20 a.m. and a life jacket at 10:32 a.m. so there was a time difference. This is the latest information we have."
The same official was quoted earlier telling Reuters: "This morning, we recovered a total of four bodies and one of them was wearing a life jacket."
Indonesian soldiers carry coffins containing bodies of victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 upon arrival at Indonesian Military Air Force base in Surabaya, Indonesia, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014. A massive hunt for the victims of the jet resumed in the Java Sea on Wednesday, but wind, strong currents and high surf hampered recovery efforts as distraught family members anxiously waited to identify their loved ones. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
The quote spread rapidly, as it would indicate that the passengers and crew aboard the doomed plane may have had some warning or indication to try to prepare for impact or a sinking.
AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes had said there was no confirmation of a victim wearing a life jacket.
The Sydney Morning Herald also reported that Zaenudin had contradicted the earlier quotes attributed to him.
According to the Associated Press, seven bodies, including a uniformed flight attendant, have been recovered, while bad weather hampered the continuing search effort in the Java Sea.
Two coffins, marked 001 and 002 and containing the bodies of a woman and a boy, returned to Surabaya, Indonesia, on Wednesday for autopsies. The other five bodies recovered will remain on a warship until conditions improve, the AP reported.
One hundred and sixty-two people were aboard the Airbus A320 when it vanished en route from Surabaya to Singapore on Sunday.
