"In total, we have found 46 bodies out of the 162 passengers of the plane," stated Jhonson.
He noted that the three bodies found by the Japanese ships JS Katanami and JS Onami have already been transported to the Sultan Imanuddin Hospital in Pangkalan Bun.
In the meantime, the search efforts to retrieve the planes tail, which is believed to house the black box, are still underway.
AirAsia flight QZ8501, carrying 155 passengers and seven crew members, went missing on Sunday (December 28) morning after losing contact with air traffic control on its way from Surabaya, East Java, to Singapore.
The plane lost contact after its pilot sought permission to ascend to 38 thousand feet from 32 thousand feet to avoid turbulent weather over the sea between Bangka Belitung and West Kalimantan.
It is believed to have crashed in the Java Sea near Karimata Strait, some 95 nautical miles from Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan.
The aircraft took off from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya at 5.36 a.m. local time and lost contact with the Jakarta air traffic control at 6.17 a.m. local time.
The plane, piloted by Captain Iriyanto and First Officer (FO) Remi Emmanuel Plesel, was scheduled to arrive in Singapore at 8.30 a.m. local time.
Reporting by Jaya Wirawana Manurung
Translating and editing by amie fenia arimbi
Editor: AA Ariwibowo
Copyright © ANTARA 2015
