- Hendra Gunawan Syawal, 23, is seen in picture after boarding AirAsia flight
- His sister was forwarded the image by a friend after the flight went missing
- The photo shows him and three friends smiling in their plane seats
- Forty minutes after leaving Indonesia, the plane crashed into the Java Sea
- A rescue team now believes it may have found the crucial black boxes
- The boxes are located in the ship's tail, which it claims to have located
- Others have located plane's body, where corpses may remain trapped
- So far 37 bodies have been recovered but only nine of these are identified
A selfie taken by a passenger on the doomed AirAsia flight reveals the haunting moment he and three friends patiently await takeoff aboard the plane - which less than an hour later was to crash into the Java Sea, killing all 162 on board.
Indonesian passenger Hendra Gunawan Syawal, 23, is featured in the image with three friends moments after they boarded the flight on December 28.
The image shows the group smiling as they sit in their seats as they wait for takeoff on the flight which crashed about 40 minutes after its departure.
An Indonesian naval patrol vessel has also found what is claimed could be the tail of the missing AirAsia jet - the section of the plane where the crucial black box voice and flight data recorders are located.
This selfie, sent to a friend by passenger Hendra Gunawan Syawal, shows himself and three friends as they sit awaiting takeoff aboard the ill-fated AirAsia flight QZ8501
Tributes are laid out for Hendra Gunawan Syawal (pictured left), who was on board the doomed flight
Hendra Gunawan Syawal's mother prays near her son's coffin at a funeral home in Adi Yasa, Indonesia
His sisters arrange the tributes and decorations beside his coffin as they prepare for his funeral service
Hendra Gunawan Syawal, 23, is one of only nine people to have so far been identified from 37 bodies that have been recovered. Pictured are two people visiting his memorial and coffin in Indonesia
Search and rescue teams have so far recovered 37 bodies. Among the few to have been identified is Mr Syawal, his sister said.
Yunita Syawal said she first feared her brother was on the AirAsia flight when a friend forwarded her the selfie of him and three others boarding one of the carrier's planes.
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But it wasn't until she called her parents that her worst fears were confirmed.
She said: 'He would always inform me before travelling anywhere. But the strangest thing was, when we spoke the previous night, he did not mention about going to Singapore,' Gulf News reported.
The wait - first to discover what had happened to the flight and then confirmation as to whether rescuers had found his body - tormented her.
'Even after days, we still kept thinking he's alive, but now that we have seen his body, we know he's gone for sure,' she said. 'There is a void left in my heart, but I hope in time I will heal.'
The families of those killed in the flight have been preparing funerals as the corpses are identified in Surabaya, where a crisis centre has been set up at a police hospital with facilities to store 150 bodies.
AirAsia crew members hold a picture of Wismoyo Ari Prambudi, a flight attendant who was on board the flight, during his funeral ceremony in Klaten, Indonesia
A member of staff carries an image of his friend a colleague - one of the 162 believed to have died in the crash
So far 34 bodies have been recovered, but only nine of those have been identified. Among them is Wismoyo Ari Prambudi, whose funeral service (pictured) was held in Klaten, Indonesia, today
At least five ships with equipment that can detect the plane's black boxes have been deployed to the area where the suspected plane parts have been spotted.
Although the Indonesian search and rescue agency is yet to confirm the discovery, the Indonesian naval patrol vessel has found what the captain said could be the tail of the missing AirAsia jet, where the black box voice and flight data recorders are located.
'We found what has a high probability of being the tail of the plane,' Yayan Sofyan, captain of the patrol vessel, said.
And five large objects - the biggest measuring 18meters (59ft) long and 5.4meters (18ft) wide and believed to be the body of the plane - have been detected.
Suryadi B Supriyadi, Indonesia's National Search and Rescue director of operations, said: 'If it cannot be done by divers, we will use sophisticated equipment with capabilities of tracking underwater objects and then will lift them up.'
He repeated that officials expect many passengers and crew will be found trapped inside.
A row of seats with the cushions still attached are pictured on board the Indonesian Navy vessel KRI Bung Tomo
Seats from the doomed plane are taken off a U.S. Navy helicopter after being found by USS Sampson
Two badly mangled seats recovered from the Java Sea are carried away after being offloaded
The crash of Flight 8501 has triggered an intensive international search-and-recovery operation involving 20 planes and helicopters along with 27 ships from Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States.
All have been desperately searching for the all-important black boxes, pieces of the Airbus A320 and corpses.
Images of reading glasses, cigarette packets and other everyday objects owned by those on board the ill-fated flight have also emerged, offering a poignant reminder of those killed when it crashed more than a week ago.
They include a pair of glasses still intact within their protective case, a set of keys, a pair of Nike running shoes and a bag containing cigarettes.
Other items hauled on board search and rescue team vessels are debris from the plane itself, including a row of seats and a side panel with windows.
Pictured is a pair of glasses found by rescue teams which are still placed within their protective case alongside a set of keys
A pair of shoes, thought to have belonged to one of the 162 on board the flight, are displayed by rescuers
More wreckage is placed on board the Indonesian navy vessel as the recovery mission continues in the Java Sea
This plane side panel was found by the Indonesia Navy in the waters near where the aircraft went down
Among the items recovered by crews on Monday were the survival kits from the ill-fated AirAsia flight
Indonesian Navy captain of KRI Bung Tomo colonel Yayan Sofiyan holding wreckage from AirAsia flight QZ8501 in the Java Sea
A passenger's bag, containing everyday items, is opened and displayed by a member of a rescue team
Meanwhile, the daughter of the pilot of the ill-fated AirAsia flight has made a heartfelt plea to the public to stop blaming her dad for the crash which claimed 162 lives.
Captain Iriyanto's daughter, Angela Anggi Ranastianis, 22, made the statement on television as authorities said they were close to locating the black box of flight 8501.
Ms Anggi Ranastianis said on Indonesian station TV one: 'As a daughter, I cannot accept it. No pilot will harm his passengers.'
'He is just a victim and has not been found yet. My family is now mourning,' she said, The Straits Times reported.
Calmer weather on Monday meant Indonesian navy divers were able to resume efforts to identify suspected wreckage from AirAsia flight QZ8501 as ships and aircraft widened their search for debris and bodies.
'He is just a victim and has not been found yet. My family is now mourning,' said Angela Anggi Ranastianis, as she pleaded with the public to not blame her father, Captain Iriyanto.
‘The weather is quite conducive. The visibility is six kilometres, there’s no low cloud, and the wind is calm,’ Indonesian Air Force Lt Col Jhonson Supriadi said.
‘With our calculations of currents this strong, every day this operational area is extended.’
The main focus of the search is about 90 nautical miles off the coast of Borneo island, where five large objects believed to be parts of the plane – the largest about 18 metres long – have been pinpointed by ships using sonar.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2897045/Smiling-friends-unaware-terrible-fate-awaiting-Relatives-reveal-final-selfie-taken-passenger-moments-boarding-doomed-AirAsia-flight.html#ixzz3NyxrgDaM
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