'Bedlam' After Floating AirAsia Body Shown on TV

Indonesia's TV One has apologized
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 30, 2014 7:47 AM CST
'Bedlam' After Floating AirAsia Body Shown on TV
Relatives of passengers of the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 react to the news on television about the findings of bodies on the waters near the site where the jetliner disappeared.   (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

Indonesia's TV One has apologized after airing footage that only served to compound the grief of relatives of those lost on AirAsia flight QZ8501. After it showed images of a bloated body floating in the sea, relatives who had gathered in Surabaya's Juanda International Airport, where the plane departed from, began to cry "hysterically," reports news.com.au; others fainted, and at least two people were transported from the room via stretcher. Time describes "bedlam" breaking out in the waiting area, which press had been barred from entering. To keep the media from peering in, the windows have been papered with food cartons and other objects.

But some media presence was apparently in the room: The Independent reports TV One used a split screen to air the footage of the body alongside the live reaction of the families (screenshot, with body pixelated, here). Other local media channels picked up TV One's footage, and some, including Channel NewsAsia, have since apologized for doing so. More on what the search teams are recovering here. (More AirAsia stories.)

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