The co-pilot of the crashed AirAsia jet was in control of the plane when he struggled to recover the aircraft as stall warnings sounded, Indonesian investigators have said.

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.

An AirAsia plane that crashed last month with 162 people on board was climbing at an abnormally high rate, then plunged and suddenly disappeared from radar, Indonesia’s transport minister has said.

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.

A missing AirAsia jet carrying 162 people could be at the bottom of the sea after it was presumed to have crashed off the Indonesian coast, an official said, as countries around Asia sent ships and planes to help in the search.