6 Bodies Recovered from AirAsia Crash, Relatives Surrender to ‘Fate’

Indonesian search and rescue officials say a sonar image appears to show the wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501 at the bottom of the Java Sea

Indonesian search and rescue officials say a sonar image appears to show the wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501 at the bottom of the Java Sea, CBS News and CNN report. plane

The reports said it remains unclear if the sonar image reveals an intact plane, or only a portion of the wreckage.

Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the jetliner to crash in shallow Indonesian waters with 162 people aboard and efforts to recover bodies from the crash are ongoing.

The jet vanished from radar in bad weather Sunday morning. After more than two days of searching, the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency confirmed Tuesday that debris and bodies from the aircraft was found in the Karimata Strait, off the coast of Borneo.

Six bodies, three male and three female, have been recovered from the Java Sea Indonesia's Search and Rescue chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo said, including a woman wearing a flight attendant's uniform.

Three bodies were retrieved Tuesday, while the others were found after the search resumed Wednesday morning.

Parts of the jet's interior, including an oxygen tank, were brought to the nearest town, Pangkalan Bun. Also found was a bright blue plastic suitcase, completely unscratched. The jet's "black boxes," cockpit voice and flight data recorders that are key to understanding what caused the crash, were not yet recovered.

Rescue workers descended from a hovering helicopter to retrieve bodies from the water, but 6-foot waves and strong winds hindered their efforts, National Search and Rescue Director SB Supriyadi said.

Raising their hands in the air and closing their eyes, dozens of grieving relatives sang Wednesday of their "surrender" to God, wiping away tears as they came to terms with the loss of loved ones on AirAsia Flight QZ8501.

More than 50 had gathered for the brief mass at the crisis centre in Surabaya, the city from where the ill-fated plane departed on Sunday.