AirAsia crash: Wreckage detected on sonar

A sonar image showing a large, dark object on the sea bed is believed to be a missing AirAsia plane, an official with Indonesia's search and rescue agency said on Wednesday after bodies and debris were found in the area.

Ships and planes have been scouring the Java Sea for Flight QZ8501 since Sunday, when it vanished with 162 people on board during bad weather about 40 minutes into its flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

Indonesian rescuers have recovered various bits of debris, including luggage, and seven bodies floating in shallow waters off Borneo. It was previously erroneously reported that over 40 had been retrieved.

Authorities in Surabaya were making preparations to receive and identify bodies, including arranging 130 ambulances to take the victims to a police hospital and collecting DNA from relatives.

Most of the people on board were Indonesians. No survivors have been found.

Officials said waves two to three metres high and winds were hampering the hunt for wreckage and preventing divers from searching the crash zone.

Among the bodies found on Wednesday was a flight attendant.

The fully clothed bodies could indicate the Airbus A320-200 was intact when it hit the water and support a theory that it suffered an aerodynamic stall.