AirAsia flight QZ8501: Sonar detects fuselage upside down on sea floor

Relatives of passengers of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 pray at Juanda International Airport as first proof of the flight's demise emerged. Photo / AP

Indonesian search officials have now confirmed they have located the fuselage of AirAsia flight 8501 on sonar radar, upside down on the sea floor.

Officials from Basarnas, Indonesia's search and rescue agency, say the plane wreckage has been located in 24 to 30 metres of water.

Before darkness fell in the area, search teams had also identified a shadow that they believed to be the plane's fuselage.

Many of the remaining victims are thought likely to still be on board the aircraft but wind, strong currents and high surf hampered recovery efforts as distraught family members anxiously waited to identify their loved ones.

It comes amid revelations from a pilot involved in the search, that three people killed on the AirAsia flight were holding hands when their bodies were spotted floating in the Java sea off Indonesia.

Lieutenant Airman Tri Wobowo, who co-piloted the C130 Hercules aircraft that first saw debris of the plane, told Indonesian newspaper Kompas: "There are seven to eight people. Three [of them] again hold hands."

The chief of Indonesia's search and rescue agency, Bambang Sulistyo, said that two males had been recovered, along with one female who was wearing a flight attendant uniform.

Since wreckage from the plane was discovered off the coast of Borneo Island, after three days of searching, there have been a number of different body counts from several official sources. It's now believed seven bodies have been recovered.

National Search And Rescue Agency officers examine maps of the area where the wreckage and bodies were found. Photo / AP

Divers and ships will now search the wreckage for the all-important black boxes of the doomed plane, after officials confirmed that the bodies and debris found are from flight 8501.

Aviation experts thought the fuselage would be easily found as the aircraft most likely only broke up when it hit the water.

The Airbus A320-200 was 42 minutes into its flight from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore on Sunday when it vanished with 162 people on board.

Relatives of the victims visit the crisis centre at Juanda International Airport. Photo / AP

Mr Taha spotted metal objects in the water but didn't know a plane was missing until he returned to his home in the village of Belinyu on Monday, Indonesian news website Tempo reported.

"I found a lot of debris - small and large - in the Tujuh islands," he said.

"The largest was four metres long and two metres wide. They were red coloured with white silver. It looked like the AirAsia colours."

The bodies were found in the Java Sea about 10 kilometres from Flight 8501's last communications with air traffic control.

Search leader Bambang Sulistyo said at the time: "As the search and rescue coordinator, I can 95 per cent confirm [this is] debris and objects from the plane. The five per cent is simply because I haven't seen personally seen them."

Indonesian Air Force officers carry the body of one of the victims of the crash from a helicopter. Photo / AP

Indonesian President Joko Widodo also confirmed plans to visit both the crisis center in Surabaya and the suspected crash location near Pangkalan Bun.

AirAsia group chief executive Tony Fernandes said on Twitter: "My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501. On behalf of AirAsia my condolences to all. Words cannot express how sorry I am."

- Daily Mail