Missing AirAsia Flight: 40 bodies have been recovered from the sea

At least 40 bodies have been recovered from the sea in the search for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501, the Indonesian navy says. According to BBC, the bodies were spotted along with debris floating in the Java Sea off the Indonesian part of Borneo, in one of the search zones for the plane. There has been no official confirmation that the remains come from the plane. The Airbus A320-200, carrying 162 people from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore, disappeared on Sunday. Relatives cried and hugged each other as bodies were shown on live TV Pictures of debris were taken by search and rescue aircraft. The search operation is now in its third day, with the area widened to cover 13 zones over land and sea.

During a news conference by the head of the operation, shown live on Indonesian TV, pictures of the debris were shown including a body floating on the water.

Relatives of passengers on the plane watching the pictures were visibly shocked.

Later, the Indonesian navy reported that 40 bodies had been retrieved by one warship.

Its spokesman said the rescuers were continuing to recover bodies and were "very busy now".
AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes tweeted to the families: "My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501. On behalf of AirAsia my condolences."