Bodies and wreckage from AirAsia flight QZ8501 are being recovered from the Java Sea, prompting emotional scenes from grieving families as they learn the fate of their loved ones.

Six bodies were found near the crash site on Tuesday, about 10 kilometres from where the plane last had contact with air traffic control.

Earlier reports that 40 bodies have been discovered have been discounted as a miscommunication by Indonesian navy officials.

The Airbus A320-200 disappeared on Sunday with 162 people on board en route from Indonesia’s Surabaya to Singapore after encountering heavy weather.

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In a statement released on Facebook on Tuesday night, AirAsia confirmed that “the debris found earlier today is indeed from QZ8501”.

Sunu Widyatmoko, CEO of AirAsia Indonesia, said: “We are sorry to be here today under these tragic circumstances. We would like to extend our sincere sympathies to the family and friends of those on board QZ8501. Our sympathies also go out to the families of our dear colleagues.”

Contact was lost after the plane deviated from its flight path and the pilot attempted to climb to 38,000 feet to avoid bad weather.

A “shadow” believed to be the missing AirAsia jet has been spotted on the seabed, though the plane is yet to be found.

“God blessed us today,” National Search and Rescue Agency chief Bambang Soelistyo told a press conference.

“At 12.50 the air force Hercules found an object described as a shadow at the bottom of the sea in the form of a plane,” he said.

The plane is lying on the ocean floor at a depth of 25m to 30m, he said.

This is approx #QZ8501 last reported position, and where the debris and bodies have been spotted. pic.twitter.com/yItiTzbumK
— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) December 30, 2014

Relatives of the 162 missing hugged each other and burst into tears in Surabaya as they watched footage of one body floating in the sea on a television feed of Soelistyo’s press conference.

Many screamed and wailed uncontrollably, breaking down into tears while they squeezed each other.

One middle-aged man collapsed and was rushed from the room on a stretcher.

This aerial view taken from an Indonesian search and rescue aircraft over the Java Sea shows floating debris from missing AirAsia flight QZ8501.

News station TVOne later apologised for the decision to air the image.

On the plane were 137 adult passengers, 17 children, a baby and seven crew.

No Australians were on board but one of the passengers identified so far is Indonesian-born Kevin Alexander Soetjipto, who was studying commerce at Monash University in Melbourne.

AirAsia’s flamboyant chief executive Tony Fernandes, expressed his grief over the first fatal incident to hit the region’s biggest budget airline.

“My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501. On behalf of AirAsia my condolences to all. Words cannot express how sorry I am,” he tweeted.

Search and rescue teams were lowered on ropes from a hovering helicopter to retrieve corpses. The discovery came after several pieces of red, white and black debris were spotted in the Java Sea near Borneo Island.

Search and rescue workers prepare body bags after the wreckage of AirAsia flight QZ8501 was found. Photo: Getty

Selamat Omar, whose son Mohamad Khairul Amri Selamat, 29, an aviation engineer, was on the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 praised Indonesian authorities for ‘finding the plane in less than 50 hours after the plane vanished’.

“Now the victims families can console themselves and give the victims a proper burial. The families can now have a closure and have a peace of mind which I am dying for,” he said.

QZ8501 lost contact with the Jakarta air traffic control tower at 7.24am (10.24am AEDT) on Sunday, about 42 minutes after takeoff.

The pilot had completed 6,100 flying hours and the first officer had completed 2,275.

Other airlines, including Malaysia Airlines, which has suffered its own share of heartbreak this year, also responded to news.

Our prayers are with families and friends of all those onboard #QZ8501. May you continue to #staystrong throughout this difficult time. — Malaysia Airlines (@MAS) December 30, 2014

Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with loved ones of those onboard #QZ8501 and all at @AirAsia — Qantas (@Qantas) December 30, 2014

Indonesian President Joko Widodo was expected in Pangkalan Bun shortly before heading to Surabaya to meet the relatives, officials said.

Officials had already been preparing relatives for the worst, with Soelistyo saying on Monday it was likely the plane was at “the bottom of the sea”, based on its estimated position.

The crash comes at the end of a disastrous year for Malaysian aviation.

Flight MH370 disappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March with 239 passengers and crew, and in July another Malaysia Airlines flight – MH17 – was shot down over unrest-hit Ukraine, killing all 298 on board.

– with AAP