AirAsia QZ8501: Female passenger is first victim buried
VIDEO:
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports on the funeral and the latest on the recovery operation
The first victim of AirAsia Flight QZ8501, found in the Java Sea after the crash on Sunday, has been laid to rest.
Officials earlier identified the remains as belonging to a female passenger called Hayati Lutfiah Hamid.
Ms Hamid, 49, was buried at a ceremony attended by family and friends in the Indonesian city of Surabaya.
The discovery of two bodies on Thursday brings the number recovered to nine. Bad weather has continued to hamper the search for the plane and other victims.
The Airbus A320-200 came down four days ago en route from Indonesia to Singapore with 162 people on board.
No survivors have been found and the cause of the crash remains unknown.
The identity of Ms Hamid was confirmed using fingerprints "and other means," East Java disaster official Col Budiyono said. Her body was handed over to family members in a brief ceremony at a police hospital in Surabaya.
The coffin was then transported to a village, before being buried according to Islamic burial customs.
One of Ms Hamid's relatives told AP news agency: "We have been fraught with worry because at this point, three of our family members are still missing... we pray together every night that they will be found soon."
Previous media reports had incorrectly identified Ms Hamid as a flight attendant.
A marker was left in place where Hayati Lutfiah Hamid was buried
Ships and planes from Malaysia, Australia and Thailand have all joined Indonesia in the search
Images of objects recovered from the sea, believed to be from the plane, were released on Thursday
The nine recovered bodies were flown to an airbase in Borneo but some have since been sent onto Surabaya where relatives, providing DNA samples, are waiting for them to be identified.
For a second day in a row, search efforts have been hampered by heavy rain and rough seas.
Some 50 divers from Indonesia were on standby to investigate a large shadow in the sea, thought to be part of the airliner, but they were unable to gain access due to the bad weather.
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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30650893
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