MV Swift Rescue to reach AirAsia crash site on Jan 1
SINGAPORE — The MV Swift Rescue, a Submarine Support and Rescue Vessel which departed yesterday for the AirAsia search operations, is expected to reach the crash site at 2pm tomorrow (Jan 1), after almost two days of sailing.
The vessel is headed for the south coast of Borneo, where the wreckage from the AirAsia plane is said to be. Upon arrival, a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) will be deployed to search underwater for the aircraft’s main fuselage and black box. The ROV has two mechanical arms, five cameras and seven lights, which allow it to work around the clock. It has a 500m depth capability and can send back real-time footage from its cameras. The location of the wreckage from AirAsia flight QZ8501 is believed to be at a depth of around 50m.
Meanwhile, the naval divers prepare items that will assist in the search and recovery, such as pinger receivers that may detect the location of the black box and underwater lift bags that will bring items to the surface. They will work in teams of six once they arrive at the site tomorrow.
At 4pm today, a fifth Republic of Singapore Navy ship — the RSS Kallang, a Bedok-class mine countermeasure vessel with underwater search capabilities like those of the MV Swift Rescue — set sail for the area to help in search operations.
