AirAsia QZ8501: Divers enter fuselage and find 6 bodies at the bottom of Java Sea

Divers have gone inside the fuselage of doomed AirAsia flight QZ8501 at the bottom of the Java Sea for the first time.

Six bodies were pulled from the wreckage of the plane that crashed in December, en-route to Singapore.

Underwater divers at the site of the wreckage reported seeing a number of bodies still strapped inside the fuselage of the plane, nearly a month on from the disaster.

Suryadi Bambang Supriyadi, of National Search and Rescue Agency, is leading the operation to retrieve the bodies and wreckage. He said: "Today we have evacuated six bodies from inside the fuselage. Some other bodies are still there but their position among other debris made it difficult for our divers."

A total of 97 bodies have yet to be retrieved from the scene because of bad weather, which has hampered efforts. Vital black box recorders have been recovered and are expected to provide clues about what the AirAsia disaster, the first in the airline's history.

A preliminary report is due to be handed in next week to the International Civil Aviation Organisation.