Rescuers Locate Fuselage of Crashed AirAsia Plane: Reports

The fuselage of the aircraft lies 3 km from where the plane's tail was discovered. It will be lifted using air bags – the same method used to retrieve the airliner's tail.

BALI, January 13 (Sputnik) – Indonesia's search and rescue agency located the fuselage of the AirAsia aircraft that crashed into the Java Sea on the 17th day of search operations, Indonesian news website Detik.com reported Tuesday, citing the operation's director.

The fuselage of the aircraft lies about 1.7 nautical miles [3 km] from where the plane's tail was discovered, the director of the search and rescue agency, Air Commodore Suryadi Supriyadi, was quoted as saying by Detik News. The fuselage was not found anywhere near the plane's cockpit voice recorder, the director added.

According to Supriyadi, the fuselage will be lifted using air bags – the same method used to salvage the aircraft's tail.

Retrieving the fuselage is especially important, as it is estimated that half of the crash victims are still trapped inside, according to the media outlet. Teams of divers will assist in the operation.

Flight QZ8501 of Malaysia-based airline crashed into the Java Sea on December 28. All 162 passengers are assumed dead, with 48 bodies already recovered by rescuers. The cause of the crash is still to be determined. According to media reports, it could take up to two weeks to retrieve information from the plane's flight recorders.