Authorities believe they have found wreckage connected with the missing AirAsia jetliner, after debris and bodies were spotted in the Java Sea, an Indonesian official confirmed in a press conference.
Bambang Soelistyo, the head of Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency, said a shadow in the shape of a plane has been spotted in the water.
Six bodies were recovered and taken to an Indonesian navy ship, First Adm. Sigit Setiayanta, the Naval Aviation Center commander at the Surabaya air force base, said.
The items were spotted in the Java Sea, near the site where air traffic control lost contact with the plane.
Search and dive crews are being sent to the area, Soelistyo said. The water is less than 100 feet deep in the area where the objects were found.
Relatives of the plane passengers, gathered at Indonesia's Surabaya Airport, cried and shouted Tuesday, with one man fainting.
AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes expressed sorrow for the situation.
"My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501," he wrote on Twitter. "Words cannot express how sorry I am."
My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501. On behalf of AirAsia my condolences ... http://t.co/OJGobL93cR
— Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) December 30, 2014
Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post that within the past hour, three of the country's ships "have been asked to proceed towards the area where bodies and debris were found" and that an additional ship will "set sail this evening to join the operation."
Tuesday's search included 12 helicopter units, 11 fixed-wing units, and 32 ship units with assistance from neighboring countries Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.
Flight QZ8501, an Airbus A320-200, lost contact with air traffic control over the Java Sea during a flight to Singapore Sunday morning, shortly after the pilots requested a change of flight plan because of weather.
The flight had at least 162 people on board.
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