AirAsia Flight 8501 Search: At Least 40 Bodies From Missing Plane Found In Java Sea

Update as of 6:00 a.m. EST: AirAsia on Tuesday evening confirmed that the debris recovered from the Java Sea earlier in the day was from Flight QZ8501. The plane went missing Sunday after requesting for a route change in bad weather.

"The debris of the aircraft was found in the Karimata Strait around 110 nautical miles south west from Pangkalan Bun," according to a statement from the airline. The area of the Java Sea where the debris was found is roughly halfway between Surabaya, Indonesia, from where the plane took off, and Singapore, its destination.

Update as of 4:37 a.m. EST: More than 40 bodies have been recovered in the search area for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501, the Indonesian navy said, according to reports. Meanwhile, Indonesia's President Joko Widodo is reportedly heading to Surabaya where relatives of passengers of the plane are gathered.

At least six bodies of passengers from the missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501 were spotted Tuesday, and three of them have so far been recovered, Indonesian officials said, according to The Associated Press (AP). The plane went missing Sunday, with 162 people on board, while flying from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore's Changi International Airport.

Authorities reportedly said that the bodies were found in the Java Sea about six miles from the location where the plane last made contact with air-traffic control. The three bodies that have been recovered were swollen but intact, SB Supriyadi, director of Indonesia's National Search and Rescue operation, told reporters, according to AP. The bodies did not have life jackets on them, authorities reportedly said.

The bodies were reportedly spotted after several objects were spotted in the sea near Borneo island. The objects reportedly resembled an emergency slide, a plane door and a life jacket.

Bambang Sulistyo, the head of search and rescue operations in Indonesia reportedly said that officials are 95 percent sure that the debris spotted in the Java Sea is from the missing plane.