SURABAYA, Indonesia, Jan. 1 -- Four bodies were transferred on Thursday to a police hospital in Surabaya, the capital city of Indonesia's East Java province, for identification, rescuers said.

Head of Search and Rescue Office of East Java province Moch. Hernanto disclosed that two bodies have undergone identification since Wednesday. "With the arrivals of the four bodies, the total number of bodies for postmortem examination grows to six,"he told Xinhua at a naval base in Surabaya.

Meanwhile, military commander in charge of search and rescue Eko Wiratmoko said that two more bodies have been recovered but they are still on a rescue ship at sea. "Actually eight have been found,"he said.

Wiratmoko was upbeat about Thursday's evacuation work which he believes would be aided by favorable weather conditions.

East Java Governor Soekarwo said that he would provide any help needed for the identification and evacuation efforts.

The ill-fated Singapore-bound AirAsia QZ8501 flight that departed from Indonesia's Surabaya carried 155 passengers and seven crews.