Seven Taken from Water as Strong Currents Make Recovery Difficult [PHOTOS]

UPDATE: 12/31/2014 7:43am  Although rescuers have seen more bodies, they have successfully taken only seven from the water.  This figure was corrected after earlier reports claimed that more had been taken from the sea.

The Associated Press is reporting that strong currents are moving objects believed to e other parts of the plane.  According to the AP, " A pastor whose church lost about 40 members in the crash of AirAsia Flight 8501 says, 'Help us, God, to move forward, even though we are surrounded by darkness.'"

UPDATE: 12/30/2014 4:59am  The BBC is reporting that forty bodies have been spottted - not recovered - in the Java Sea.

UPDATE: 12/30/2014 3:35am   ABC News is reporting that three bodies have been recovered along with debris floating in the Java Sea.  No official update has been posted by AirAsia yet, but ABC quotes Indonesia's Bambang Soelistyo, head of that country's National Search and Rescue Agency, as saying that a shadow in the shape of a plane has been spotted in the water.

UPDATE: 12/29/2014 02:54am   The Associated Press is reporting that an Indonesian official says that objects have been spotted in the sea that could be related to the missing AirAsia jet.

The objects were detected near Nangka Island, which is about seven hundred miles from where the plane lost contact.

In the photo below, taken earlier today (December 29, 2014), families search the list of those on board the plane:

Original Story:

UPDATE: 12/28/2014 08:19am    An official with Indonesia's search and rescue agency is being quoted by the Associated Press as saying that rescue operations are being suspended because of nightfall and will resume Monday morning, December 29, 2014.

According to the AP, "Achmad Toha says the planes involved in search returned to their base Sunday evening, but that some ships were still in the area where the plane lost contact with air traffic control."

AirAsia flight QZ8501 took off from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya at 5:35am local time.  Two hours later it was missing.

The crew had been asked to change their route because of bad weather.  It went missing somewhere over the island of Borneo, the southern region of which is controlled by Indonesia.

"AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24hrs this morning.

At the present time we unfortunately have no further information regarding the status of the passengers and crew members on board, but we will keep all parties informed as more information becomes available.

The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC.

At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service."

Indonesian authorities are leading search and rescue operations.  Most of those on board are from Indonesia.

AirAsia released a list of the home countries of those on board:

PASSENGERS:

• Indonesia              149
• Malaysia                1
• Singapore              1
• South Korea           3
• United Kingdom     1

CREW:

• France                    1
• Indonesia                6

Among the crew are two pilots, four flight attendants, and one engineer.  AirAsia says that the flight captain has a total of 6,100 flying hours and the first officer has 2,275 hours of flight experience.

[EDITOR's NOTE: Typographical errors and British spelling conventions have been left in the original texts where presented, particularly in those via Twitter.   Readers are reminder that Twitter is an instantaneous communications medium and because of that, and the gravity of the situation with which those using that platform to communicate may be facing, errors in spelling and grammar are not being edited in order to maintain the integrity of the text.]

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