Bodies Recovered in AirAsia Search

The fate of Flight 8501 now appears to be a tragedy, not a mystery: Indonesian officials say search-and-rescue teams have recovered debris and bodies from the sea around 10 miles from where the AirAsia jet was last heard from on Sunday, in a spot roughly 100 miles from land. The Indonesian navy says bodies have been removed from the sea, and that rescuers are "very busy now," reports the BBC. Workers being lowered on ropes from a hovering helicopter are encountering six-foot waves in their quest to retrieve more bodies. One body, that of a half-naked man whose shirt partially covered his head, was shown on Indonesian TV, to wails in a waiting room at the Surabaya airport (more on that here).

Earlier, an Indonesian military aircraft spotted debris floating off the coast of Borneo, including suitcases and a life jacket, which officials say they have now confirmed came from the Airbus A320, the New York Times reports. Officials say the bodies were found after a search plane spotted a shadow on the seabed that is believed to be the missing plane, CNN reports. More search teams, divers, and ships with sonar equipment are being sent to the site off the coast of Borneo, where the depth of the sea is around 100 feet. "My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501," AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes tweeted. "On behalf of AirAsia my condolences to all. Words cannot express how sorry I am." (More Flight 8501 stories.)