Strong winds and currents
as well as 9ft (3m) high waves stopped divers from effectively searching the
site of the crash off the island of Borneo.
Rescue planes and
helicopters were grounded by heavy rain and low visibility, and the poor
weather conditions were expected to continue for the next two or three days.
A total of seven bodies
from flight QZ8501 have been retrieved from the Java Sea since victims were
first spotted on Tuesday. They included a female flight attendant in her red
uniform.
One of the bodies was
wearing a life jacket, suggesting the crew may have had time to prepare
passengers for crashing into the sea.
The presence of
fully-clothed passengers could also indicate the Airbus A320 was intact when it
hit the water during a storm.
Two bodies taken on an
Indonesian military plane to Surabaya - the city where the AirAsia flight
departed from - were of a woman and a teenage boy.
They were taken to hospital
for examination and identification. Relatives of victims have given their DNA
to help identify loved ones.
The plane wreckage is
thought to be on the sea floor, after sonar detected a large, dark object
beneath waters near where debris and bodies were found on the surface.
Many of the dead were
believed to be still inside the jet's fuselage.
Joko Widodo, Indonesia's
president, said his priority was recovering bodies from the Karimata Strait in
the Java Sea, where rescuers have found debris including a plane door, luggage
and an oxygen tank.
Mr Widodo said: "I
feel a deep loss over this disaster and pray for the families to be given
fortitude and strength."
AirAsia is offering an
immediate advance of money to loved ones of the 155 passengers, with chief
executive Tony Fernandes describing the incident as a "scar (that will be)
with me for the rest of my life".
Television bosses in
Indonesia have also apologised for showing graphic pictures when the bodies
were first found floating in the sea.
Relatives at Surabaya
airport broke down when they images were shown, and some fainted.
The United States said its
destroyer USS Sampson and combat ship USS Fort Worth were awaiting instructions
from the Indonesian search command on the recovery operation.
Singapore said it was
sending two underwater beacon detectors to try to pick up pings from the black
boxes, which contain cockpit voice and flight data recorders.
An expert from the UK Air
Accidents Investigation Branch is also travelling the scene.
About 30 ships and 21
aircraft from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and the
United States have been involved in the search.
Sky News
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