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SURABAYA, Indonesia (AP) — More ships have arrived with sensitive equipment to hunt for the fuselage of AirAsia Flight 8501 and the more than 145 people still missing since it crashed into the sea last Sunday.
Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency says efforts will be stepped up as long as the weather allows.
The Airbus A320 crashed into the Java Sea with 162 people on board. Sixteen bodies have been recovered so far. Seven were announced Friday morning, six of which were found by a U.S. Navy ship.
The agency says nine planes, many with metal detecting equipment, also are scouring a more than 8,300 square mile area off Pangkalan Bun, the closest town on Borneo island to the search area. And two Japanese ships with three helicopters are on their way to the area.
So far, one victim of the crash has been returned to her family.
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149-c-12-(Margie Mason, AP correspondent)-"beaches or elsewhere"-AP correspondent Margie Mason reports the bad weather makes for a shifting debris field, and that's a big worry. (1 Jan 2015)
<<CUT *149 (01/01/15)££ 00:12 "beaches or elsewhere"
147-c-12-(Margie Mason, AP correspondent)-"caused this crash"-AP correspondent Margie Mason reports investigators are very eager to find the fuselage of the plane, and the voice and data recorders. (1 Jan 2015)
<<CUT *147 (01/01/15)££ 00:12 "caused this crash"
146-c-18-(Margie Mason, AP correspondent)-"of the plane"-AP correspondent Margie Mason reports investigators are eager to pinpoint where the fuselage is resting on the ocean floor. (1 Jan 2015)
<<CUT *146 (01/01/15)££ 00:18 "of the plane"
144-c-17-(Margie Mason, AP correspondent)-"in the village"-AP correspondent Margie Mason reports that a passenger aboard AirAsia Flight 8501 has become the first victim of the crash to be returned to her family. (1 Jan 2015)
<<CUT *144 (01/01/15)££ 00:17 "in the village"
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