Body found in sea search for AirAsia: Indonesian search and rescue

A body was found in the sea Tuesday during the search for missing AirAsia flight QZ8501, Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency chief said.

"At 13:25... we spotted a floating object believed to be one of the passengers' bodies," Bambang Soelistyo said at a press conference.

Relatives of the 162 people missing on the plane hugged each other and burst into tears in Surabaya, where the plane departed from, as they watched footage showing a body floating in the sea on a television feed of Soelistyo's press conference in Jakarta.

They hugged one another and continued crying until an AirAsia officer shouted, "This is crazy", an AFP journalist at the scene said.

The situation at the centre was tense and emotional, with some hysterical and crying non-stop.

One man fainted and had to be taken out on a stretcher.