Parts of the aircraft have also been found floating in the sea.

The wreckage and the bodies have been located off the island of Borneo.
Reports said an emergency exit door and life jackets were among the debris found.

The aircraft, Air Asia Flight 8501, went missing an hour after it took off from the Indonesian city of Surabaya en-route to Singapore on Sunday (December 28) carrying 162 passengers and crew on board.

The flight last made contact with Air Traffic Control in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta at approximately 7.42am before disappearing from radar.

Before going down the pilot of the ill-fated plane had requested for permission to deviate from course and reach a high altitude to avoid a thunderstorm on the regular flightpath.