AirAsia flight QZ8501 found off Borneo coast

An investigator at the National Transportation Safety Committee has confirmed to Reuters that the cockpit voice recorder from the wreck of an AirAsia passenger jet was retrieved from the Java Sea on Tuesday morning.

The second black box was retrieved and lifted from the wreck onto an Indonesian navy vessel on Tuesday morning, Indonesian news channel MetroTV said, quoting a transport ministry official. It is expected to be sent to the capital for analysis.

#QZ8501 search: Backpack, food, kid's shoes found by Indonesia ship Bung Tomo: @detikcomhttp://t.co/fU1QeMQPFCpic.twitter.com/QiXysgpqA4

— Channel NewsAsia (@ChannelNewsAsia) December 31, 2014

One of the three newly recovered bodies was female dressed in a stewardess uniform, F. H. Bambang Soelistyo, chief of Indonesia's search and rescue agency said. The other two bodies were male.

Around 75 ambulances are waiting to receive bodies of the victims at Juanda International Airport. The remains will then be transported for forensics and identification.

Three additional bodies have been found in the morning, according to the National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) chief, Channel News Asia reports. The total of six recovered bodies have not yet been brought to shore to Pangkalan Bun in Kalimantan due to bad weather.

Poor weather conditions are hampering recovery efforts off the island of Borneo.

"Our assets are standing by, but we can't dispatch divers yet because of the bad weather," Tatang Zaenudin, deputy operations officer of Indonesia's search and rescue agency, told The Wall Street Journal.

"We have to move quickly as [the meteorological agency] had warned us that the weather will get worse Friday," Zaenudin added.

Day 4 of #QZ8501 search focused on 4 sectors of 28x56 nautical miles: Malaysia @ChiefofNavyhttp://t.co/fU1QeMQPFCpic.twitter.com/CJqhiqjBZe

— Channel NewsAsia (@ChannelNewsAsia) December 31, 2014

A pilot flying a C-130 Hercules aircraft taking part in the search operation said he spotted seven or eight bodies in the water at the Karimata Strait on Tuesday, Indonesian media outlet Kompas reported. He added that three of the bodies appeared to be holding hands.

The US has announced it is sending a second ship to help in the recovery operation. The USS Fort Worth is preparing to leave Singapore and will be at the scene in a day or two.