The second attempt to lift the fuselage of the crashed AirAsia jetliner has failed as the wreckage sank back to the ocean floor when a rope linking the lifting balloons broke.

For the first time, Indonesian divers have been able to enter the fuselage of the AirAsia jetliner that crashed last month into the Java Sea and retrieved six bodies, an official said.

Indonesia’s top accident investigator says there are no indications of foul play in last month’s crash of an AirAsia jetliner with 162 people on board.

Indonesian divers pulled the cockpit voice recorder from the sunken wreckage of an AirAsia passenger jet, a key step towards determining the cause of the crash that killed all 162 people aboard.

Divers have retrieved one of the black boxes from the AirAsia plane that crashed more than two weeks ago into the Java Sea, a major breakthrough in the slow-moving hunt.

Investigators searching for black boxes in the crashed AirAsia plane lifted the tail portion out of the Java Sea, two weeks ago after it went down, killing all 162 people on board.

Strong currents and blinding silt thwarted an attempt by divers to find AirAsia Flight 8501's black boxes, which they hope are still located in the recently discovered tail of the plane.

Priority is to recover more bodies from Java Sea amid fears that time is running out, writes Achmad Ibrahim.

Divers and an unmanned underwater vehicle have spotted the tail of the missing AirAsia plane in the Java Sea, the first confirmed sighting of any wreckage 11 days after Flight 8501 disappeared with 162 people on board.

Strong currents forced Indonesia to expand the search area for the crashed AirAsia plane today, as rough seas and bad weather moved debris and made it difficult to reach suspected chunks of the fuselage on the ocean floor.

Indonesia’s transportation ministry has announced harsh measures against everyone who allowed AirAsia Flight 8501 to take off without proper permits - including the suspension of the airport’s operator and officials in the control tower.

Divers are renewing their attempts to locate large objects on the Java Sea bed believed to be the fuselage of the AirAsia flight that crashed more than a week ago, killing all 162 on board.

Relatives of AirAsia crash victims sought strength in prayer today, a week after the disaster killed all 162 people on board, as rough weather again prevented searchers from reaching a large object on the seabed believed to be the plane’s fuselage.

Divers are grappling with rain and rolling waves as they try to reach what is believed to be the fuselage of AirAsia Flight 8501, resting on the ocean floor near four other large objects.

Indonesian officials have said that they were confident wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501 had been located after sonar equipment detected four massive objects on the ocean floor.

Indonesia's search and rescue chief said today he was "confident" two large objects detected under the Java Sea were the wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501.

Search crews have recovered 30 bodies from the AirAsia plane crash, and an Indonesian navy official says five were found still strapped in their seats.

The investigation into the AirAsia crash has turned to the sea floor, with more sonar equipment and metal detectors deployed today to scour the seabed for wreckage, including the plane’s black boxes.

More ships loaded with sensitive equipment have arrived to search for the fuselage of AirAsia Flight 8501 and more than 150 people still missing, five days after the aircraft crashed into the sea.

A passenger aboard AirAsia Flight 8501 has become the first victim of the crash to be returned to her family, one of many painful reunions to come, as searchers struggled against wind and heavy rain to find more than 150 people still missing.

An AirAsia flight attendant identified by the name tag on her red uniform has become the first victim of AirAsia Flight 8501 to be returned to her family.

Search officials in Indonesia say a body recovered from the crashed AirAsia plane was wearing a life jacket.

A massive hunt for the 162 victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 resumed in the Java Sea, with six bodies, including a flight attendant identified by her trademark red uniform, recovered.

AirAsia has confirmed that the debris found in the sea is from its Airbus A320 aircraft, with which air traffic controllers lost contact on Sunday.

Six bodies from the AirAsia flight which disappeared on Sunday have been spotted off the coast of Borneo, and three have been recovered, Indonesian officials said today.

Several bodies have been found floating in the sea near where a missing AirAsia flight was last seen, Indonesian officials have said.

Several pieces of debris seen floating in the sea off Borneo island might be linked to the missing AirAsia jetliner, an Indonesia National Search and Rescue spokesman.

Several pieces of debris have been spotted floating in the sea off Borneo island, possibly linked to the missing AirAsia jetliner, an Indonesia National Search and Rescue spokesman said.

There is “insufficient evidence” that objects spotted in the sea are from the missing AirAsia plane, Indonesia’s vice-president has said.

Objects have been spotted in the sea by a search plane hunting for a missing AirAsia jet, an Indonesian official has said.

The search for a missing passenger jet carrying 162 people has resumed.

There is slim chance of finding survivors on board missing flight AirAsia flight QZ8501, a leading aviation safety expert has said.

An AirAsia plane with 162 people on board lost contact with ground control while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore.