The three AirAsia passenger bodies held hands

A pilot who participated in the QZ8501 flight search campaign said three victims' bodies were found holding hands.

"There are 7 to 8 corpses there. Three of these are still holding hands," kompas.com quoted Lieutenant Tri Wibowo, who sat in the cockpit of a rescue plane, recalled.

Search and rescue forces in AirAsia's search for missing aircraft today uncovered many fragments and bodies near the area of ​​the aircraft that appeared last on the radar screen. The Indonesian Navy announced that they had recovered 40 bodies but had not found the body. However, this force said only 3 bodies were discovered.

Member of an Indonesian Maritime Surveillance team looking for a missing QZ8501 flight in the northern part of Bangka Island.(Photo: Reuters)

"My heart contains grief for all the families involved in the QZ8501 case , " Reuters quoted Tony Fernandes, AirAsia CEO, posting on personal Twitter. "Representing AirAsia, I give condolences to everyone" . AirAsia said it is inviting families to Surabaya, "where a care team will be in contact to ensure they meet all they need."

"People need to be strong," said Tri Rismaharini, Mayor of Surabaya, when comforting relatives. "They are no longer ours, now they belong to God".

A navy spokesman said an airplane door, oxygen cylinders and a body had been taken by the helicopter.

"The challenge now is 3m high waves," said Fransiskus Bambang Soelistyo, head of Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency, and said the search will take place all night. He refused to answer the question of what survivor was found.

Flight with the number QZ8501 of AirAsia Airlines is missing while on a journey from Indonesia to Singapore, carrying 155 passengers and 7 crew members. QZ8501 is said to fly over the Java Sea, between Borneo and Java, when missing.

About 30 ships and 21 aircraft from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and the US are participating in the search campaign.