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(ZHAO YINGQUAN) |
Chinese patrol ship Nanhaijiu 101 prepares to join the search and rescue operation for Malaysia-based AirAsia flight QZ8501 in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, on December 30, 2014.
The plane carrying 162 people lost contact with air traffic control while flying from west Indonesia to Singapore on a scheduled two-hour flight two days earlier.
Indonesian rescuers searching for the missing AirAsia plane spotted an emergency exit door and other debris, as well as a "shadow" on the seabed that is believed to be the fuselage of the missing jet, on December 30.
Rescuers spotted six bodies and recovered three from waters off the southern coast of Kalimantan Island on that same day, according to the National Search and Rescue Agency of Indonesia.
China sent a navy frigate and two air-force planes to assist with the operation. No Chinese passengers were on board.
