Rescue workers searching for the doomed AirAsia flight 8501 have recovered at least 40 bodies from the Java Sea, the Indonesian Navy has confirmed.
Scores of bodies were discovered alongside luggage, a plane door and an emergency slide in the water 100 miles off the coast of Borneo Island earlier today, following three days of searching.
Officials have confirmed that the bodies and debris found in the Java Sea off Indonesia are from flight 8501, and a naval spokesman said the rescuers remain 'very busy' retrieving the victims.
Before darkness fell in the area, search teams identified a shadow that they believe to be the plane's fuselage beneath the water, which is relatively shallow at just 160 feet at its deepest point. Many of the remaining 122 victims are thought likely to still be on board the aircraft.
The recovery of 40 bodies came as devastated relatives of AirAsia crash victims collapsed in grief and were taken to hospital after an Indonesian television station showed disturbing uncensored footage of the swollen corpses floating in the sea.
Images shown on a news channel showed at least one body floating in the water, causing the victims' relatives - who were watching live reports at crisis-centre at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya - to burst into tears, with some fainting and requiring hospital treatment.
The Airbus A320-200 was 42 minutes into its flight from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore on Sunday when it vanished with 162 people on board.
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Devastated relatives of AirAsia crash victims collapsed in grief and were taken to hospital after an Indonesian television station showed disturbing images of swollen bodies floating in the sea
Images shown on Indonesian television showed at least one bloated corpse floating in the water
Relatives of missing AirAsia passengers react to live news reports of bodies being found off the coast of Borneo Island. The group were watching at a crisis-centre set up at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya
After the bodies were shown on live TV, victims' relatives screamed, wailed uncontrollably and broke down in tears. At least two people fainted and were carried out on stretchers to waiting ambulances
Tragic: The flight went missing from radar at 6.18am local time - six minutes after last communication with air traffic control - while travelling from Indonesia to Singapore with 162 people on board. Search and rescue workers spotted a number of bodies and debris floating in the water this morning
Images on Indonesian television showed a half-naked bloated body bobbing in the sea. Search and rescue teams were lowered on ropes from a hovering helicopter to retrieve the corpses.
As family members of the plane's passengers sat together in a waiting room at Surabaya airport, they watched the graphic details on television.
Many screamed and wailed uncontrollably, breaking down in tears while they squeezed each other. At least two people fainted and were carried out on stretchers to waiting ambulances.
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