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- Rescuers begin pulling bodies and debris from water during search for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501
- Officials confirm that they are from the missing flight
- Indonesian President Joko Widodo says search mission will continue, and will focus on recovering passengers and crew
Officials have said another AirAsia plane was involved in an incident on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press news agency. A plane with 159 passengers and crew members on board overshot a runway after landing in the Philippines. Photos about the incidentemerged on social media earlier on Tuesday.
Joko Widodo's news conference was light on detail, and he did not mention any possible cause for the crash. He said he shared the feelings of relatives of those lost in the accident, and urged them to stay strong in the face of this "difficult moment".
Joko Widodo ends his news conference without taking questions.
Joko Widodo: Thanks countries around the region for helping with the search for the plane.
Joko Widodo: Search and rescue operation will continue, and all teams must focus on finding passengers and crew.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo begins news conference.
Malaysian Prime Minister
Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrives for his news conference.
Messages of support for the relatives and passengers of AirAsia flight have been posted inside Terminal Two at Singapore Changi Airport.
"Our first priority now is the wellbeing of the family members of those onboard QZ8501," says AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes.
The AirAsia statement continues: "At the present time, search and rescue operations are still in progress and further investigation of the debris found at the location is still under way."
AirAsia says Indonesian rescuers have confirmed that the debris found earlier is from Flight QZ8501.
A reminder that Indonesian President Joko Widodo is expected to hold a news conference within the next 30 minutes.
Erik van Sebille, an oceanographer at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, tells AP that if conditions were perfect, the sea is shallow enough that searchers could probably spot any large debris using only their eyesight: "It's a much different environment than the open ocean."
Rescue teams scouring the waters of the Java Sea say the area's shallow waters will make recovery efforts much easier, reports the Associated Press news agency.
BBC News, Surabaya
Relatives waiting at Juanda International Airport in Indonesia screamed and wailed as local television networks showed pictures of what clearly was a human body floating in the water. Grown men put their hands on their faces while at least two people collapsed and were taken out of the room on stretchers.
Millions of Indonesians have been showing solidarity with families and friends of those on board the AirAsia flight.
Telegraph correspondent in Surabaya
Desperate relatives pray together in Surabaya's airport, as news of the discovery of debris and bodies filters through.
Reuters news agency also quoting Indonesian official Manahan Simorangkir saying 40 bodies have been recovered.
BBC News, Surabaya
"Based on the navy radio, it has been reported that the warship Bung Tomo has retrieved 40 bodies and the number is growing," Indonesian navy spokesman Manahan Simorangkir told AFP.
AFP news agency also reporting 40 bodies pulled from the sea.
BBC News, Jakarta
says officials are still saying that they are 95% certain that they have found the plane. But the debris found and the sight of bodies in the water appears to be conclusive, he says.
If you're just joining us, this is our live coverage of the search for missing airliner AsiaAir flight QZ8501. It went missing on Sunday on what should have been a short, routine flight from Indonesia to Singapore. Debris and what appear to be bodies have now been found in the Java sea, leading officials to confirm with almost certainty that the flight crashed into the Java sea.
Family members, some of whom have been waiting for news at the airport in Surabaya since Sunday, react after seeing images on local television of an unidentified body floating in the Java Sea.
A map was shown earlier at the press conference of which debris was spotted and where by search and rescue teams.