DHAKA: The tail of crashed AirAsia flight QZ8501 has been found in the Java Sea, the head of Indonesia’s search and rescue has said.

The tail is where the crucial black box voice and flight data recorders are located which would give investigators clues as to what caused the crash.

The aircraft was en route from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore on 28 December with 162 people on board when it disappeared from radar.

No survivors have been found.

‘We have found the tail that has been our main target today,’ Bambang Soelistyo told reporters in the capital, Jakarta, according to the BBC.

He said divers and unmanned underwater vehicles spotted the tail, which is the first significant piece wreckage from the crash to be identified.

Forty bodies have been recovered so far but authorities believe most of the passengers could still be inside the main body of the plan.

A huge international operation with aerial searches and more than 30 ships involved has been repeatedly hampered by poor weather.

Some wreckage, including seats and a door, were found floating on the sea.

BDST: 1212 HRS, JAN 07, 2015