Air Asia #QZ8501 SAR - A floating object believed to be one of the passengers' bodies Spotted

AirAsia: body found during search

December 30 2014 at 10:21am  Comment on this story

EPAIndonesian Search and Rescue Team members mark a search area on a map at Juanda Airport, in Surabaya after AirAsia flight QZ 8501, en route from Surabaya to Singapore, was reported missing by Indonesian air authorities. Photo: FULLY HANDOKO

Jakarta - A body was found in the sea on Tuesday during the search for missing AirAsia flight QZ8501, Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency chief said.

“At 13:25... we spotted a floating object believed to be one of the passengers' bodies,” Bambang Soelistyo said at a press conference.

Relatives of the 162 people missing on the plane hugged each other and burst into tears in Surabaya, where the plane departed from, as they watched footage showing a body floating in the sea on a television feed of Soelistyo's press conference in Jakarta.

They hugged one another and continued crying until an AirAsia officer shouted, “This is crazy”, an AFP journalist at the scene said.

The situation at the centre was tense and emotional, with some hysterical and crying non-stop.

One man fainted and had to be taken out on a stretcher.

AFP