AirAsia QZ8501: Tail of crashed plane found

 Indonesian 7 January 2015  Agencies : Part of the tail of crashed AirAsia flight QZ8501 has been found in the Java Sea, Indonesian searchers say.

The tail houses the "black boxes" - the voice and flight data recorders - which could give investigators clues as to the cause of the crash.It was found in a secondary search area, lending weight to theories that strong currents have moved the debris.The plane was lost en route from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore on 28 December, with 162



people aboard.No survivors have been found.Buried in mudPart of the tail of the Airbus A320-200 was spotted by teams involving divers and unmanned underwater vehicles, search and rescue chief Bambang Soelistyo said in Jakarta.It is the first significant piece of wreckage from the crash to be identified and was found in an area some 30km (19 miles) from the initial search area.The part found has the AirAsia mark on it, Mr Soelistyo said. It is buried in mud, in water 30m (98ft)deep, and is believed to be upside down.Despite powerful sea currents and murky water, searchers managed to take photographs, he said. On one piece, the letter A appears to be painted.Only 40 bodies have been recovered so far but the authorities believe many of the passengers may still be strapped inside the main body of the plane.