Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency has confirmed that debris found in the sea on Tuesday is from the missing AirAsia flight ZZ8501.
According to media reports seven bodies have been discovered so far, not 40 as suggested in earlier reports, but poor weather is now hampering rescue efforts.
The debris of the Airbus A320-200 aircraft, which lost contact with air traffic control with 162 passengers and crew on board, was found in the Karimata Strait south-west of Pangkalan Bun in the Borneo province of Central Kalimantan.
AirAsia said the discovery had been confirmed by The National Search and Rescue Agency Republic of Indonesia (BASARNAS). Search and rescue operations began when the flight between Indonesia and Singapore lost contact with air traffic control on Sunday morning.
Tony Fernandes, AirAsia group chief executive, said: “I am absolutely devastated. This is a very difficult moment for all of us at AirAsia as we await further developments of the search and rescue operations but our first priority now is the well-being of the family members of those on board ZQ8501.”
The airline is inviting family members to come to Surabaya, where a dedicated team of care providers, including counsellors and religious leaders, will be assigned to each family.
Among the 155 passengers on board were 137 adults, 17 children and one infant, while the crew comprised two pilots, four cabin crew and one engineer.
Search and rescue operators are still underway to further investigate debris found at the site. AirAsia Indonesia staff have been sent to the site to work alongside the authorities.
Initial reports by naval officials that 40 bodies had been retrieved from the sea have been dismissed by the search and rescue agency.