Airasia jet crash: Search pilot reveals victims were found holding hands

Jakarta: A search pilot, who discovered the debris from AirAsia Flight QZ8501, revealed that three of the bodies recovered were holding hands, according to reports.

"There are seven to eight people. Three [of them] again hold hands," he told Indonesian national newspaper Kompas.

Apart from bodies, the pilot reported seeing luggage, buoys and pieces of the aircraft.

A massive hunt for the 162 victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 resumed in the Java Sea on Wednesday, with the recovery of six bodies, including a flight attendant identified by her trademark red uniform. But wind, strong currents and high surf hampered recovery efforts as distraught family members anxiously waited to identify their loved ones.

The first proof of the jet's fate emerged Tuesday in an area not far from where it dropped off radar screens on Sunday morning. Searchers found the bodies and debris that included a life jacket, an emergency exit door and a suitcase about 10 miles from the plane's last known coordinates.

On Wednesday, divers were deployed, but heavy rain and clouds grounded helicopters, said Soelistyo.

The airliner's disappearance halfway through a two-hour flight between Surabaya, Indonesia, and Singapore triggered an international search for the aircraft involving dozens of planes, ships and helicopters. It is still unclear what brought the plane down.