Relatives of passengers of the missing flight at the crisis centre at the Juanda International Airport in Surabaya. (Associated Press)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday offered condolences to the families of those on AirAsia flight QZ8501 after the airlines confirmed that its debris had been spotted in the sea.
"Our thoughts are with the families of those on Flight QZ8501. We offer our condolences and stand firmly with them in this hour of grief," said Prime Minister Modi.
AirAsia confirmed that the debris spotted in the Java Sea, is from the missing flight QZ8501, even as three bodies confirmed to be those of passengers in the plane were retrieved. The debris was seen in the Karimata Strait, around 110 nautical miles south west from Pangkalan Bun in Central Kalimantan province in Borneo island.
Flight QZ 8501 lost contact with the air control tower 42 minutes after taking off from Indonesia's Surabaya city for Singapore early Sunday morning.