More bodies have been recovered from the Java Sea, five days after AirAsia flight QZ8501 crashed, bringing the total found so far to 30, Indonesian rescue officials say.
The Airbus A320 disappeared with 162 people on board while flying from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore.
Operations to recover victims continue but no survivors have been found.
Specialist equipment has arrived to aid the search for the plane itself and its “black box” flight recorders.
However officials said it could not be used on Friday because of high waves, Reuters reported.
The plane is almost certainly at the bottom of the relatively shallow Java Sea.
The cause of the crash is not known yet.
‘Strapped in seats’
Some 20 more bodies were found on Friday, as a massive search operation in the presumed crash area continued.
Some were reported to be still strapped into their seats.
The aircraft’s fuselage has still not been located, and it is thought most of the passengers could be inside.
“Waves were between three and four metres today, making it difficult to load bodies onto ships and [move them] between ships,” the head of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said.
Bambang Soelistyo told reporters in Jakarta that some vessels would search through the night. “Tonight we are sending tug boats which should make the [body] transfers easier.”
He estimated the fuselage was at a depth of about 25-30m (80-100ft).
In a statement, AirAsia confirmed only that 22 bodies had been found, adding: “Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families and friends of our passengers and colleagues on board QZ8501.”
The bodies recovered from the sea are being taken to Surabaya in numbered coffins.
Four people have been identified so far. They include a flight attendant and a four-year-old boy.
The boss of Air Asia, Tony Fernandes, tweeted that he would accompany the body of one victim home from Surabaya.
“I cannot describe how I feel. There are no words,” he said.
Several pieces of debris have been recovered, including what is thought to be part of a wing flap.
The BBC’s Alice Budisatrijo in Surabaya: “Their main priority is just to get the bodies of their loved ones back”
The BBC’s Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Pangkalan Bun says there is a growing sense among search teams that their task is going to be harder than initially thought.
Bad weather and churning seas have dashed hopes of finding the plane visually, he says, and teams will now be relying on scans of the sea floor.
Mr Soelistyo said on Friday that wreckage and bodies were spread over a 5km area of the Java Sea.
The search is focussed on an area of 1,575 nautical square miles of the Java Sea off Borneo.
‘Unbelievably steep climb’
There were 137 adult passengers, 17 children and one infant, along with two pilots and five crew, on the plane – the majority Indonesian.
Kevin Khuana talks to the BBC about his friend Stephanie Gunawan, who was on board AirAsia QZ8501
Some investigators are reported to believe that the plane may have gone into an aerodynamic stall as the pilot climbed steeply to avoid a storm.
Officials have said the plane was travelling at 32,000ft when it requested to climb to 38,000ft to avoid bad weather.
When air traffic controllers consented to allow it to climb to 34,000ft a few minutes later, they got no reply.
A source quoted by Reuters said that radar data appeared to show that the aircraft’s “unbelievably” steep climb may have been beyond the Airbus A320’s limits.
However, the unnamed source emphasised that more information was needed before a definitive conclusion could be reached.
AirAsia previously had an excellent safety record, with no fatal accidents involving its aircraft.
