Indonesian authorities affirmed on January 14 that divers have detected the fuselage of an AirAsia aircraft that crashed into the Java Sea on December 28.

Spokesperson of the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency Dianta told reporters that the fuselage of the QZ8501 plane was found three kilometres from the location of the tail section at 3:05pm on January 14 (local time).

Divers plunged into the sea at dawn of January 15 to examine a large chunk of the AirAsia jet's fuselage, aiming to bring bodies believed to be trapped inside to the surface, said Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Earlier, Singapore's Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post that the fuselage was spotted by a Singaporean navy ship. Photos taken by the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) showed part of the wing and the words "now" and "everyone", apparently from AirAsia's motto "Now Everyone Can Fly" painted on the plane's exterior.

AirAsia Flight QZ8501 lost contact with air traffic control in the morning of December 28, only 42 minutes after taking off from Indonesia ’s Surabaya airport for Singapore . It carried 162 passengers and crew members, including 155 Indonesians, three Koreans, one Singaporean, one Malaysian, one French, and one British.

To date, 48 bodies of the victims have been found, 36 of which have been identified.

(Source: VNA)