AT least 40 bodies and wreckage including a plane door and oxygen tanks have been recovered in the search for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501 with 162 on board.

    The bodies — which were not wearing life jackets — have been brought on board a navy ship, said Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Director SB Supriyadi yesterday.

    “The warship Bung Tomo has retrieved 40 bodies and the number is growing,” said a navy spokesman.

    They were found in the Java Sea, about 10 kilometers from where the plane last communicated with air traffic control.

    Search chief SB Supriyadi also said an air force Hercules had “found an object described as a shadow at the bottom of the sea in the form of a plane.”

    Objects spotted earlier have also been confirmed as wreckage from the plane and some have been taken away by helicopter for testing.

    AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes said he was rushing to the scene and wrote on Twitter: “My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501. On behalf of AirAsia my condolences to all. Words cannot express how sorry I am.”

    The Airbus A320-200 disappeared from radar Sunday morning, on its way from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore.

    (SD-Agencies)