DHAKA: The tail of an Indonesia AirAsia plane that crashed into the Java Sea was lifted to the surface on Saturday.

Floating balloons were used to lift the tail – the biggest part of the plane’s wreckage found since the crash of flight QZ8501 on December 28, a media photographer and Indonesian authorities said, reports The Straits Times.

‘Last night, our divers had opened the door of the tail cabin, searched around but found nothing,’ said SB Supriyadi, a director with the National Search and Rescue Agency Basarnas.

‘But the boat above detected faint ping sounds believed to be from the black boxes about one mile (1.6 kilometres) southeast of the tail... and covered in mud.’

Supriyadi said the divers from an elite Marines unit returned on Saturday morning to the area believed to be where the pings were emanating from more than 30 metres underwater.

‘They are searching within a radius of 500 metres from where the pings are emitted. The challenge is that these sounds are very faint. If a ship passes by, the sounds will be drowned out. So we really need calm waters,’ he said.

‘So far, our divers still have not been able to determine the coordinates of the black box.’

Flight QZ8501 went missing as it flew from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore, and the tail of the plane was found 10 days later on the floor of the Java Sea.

BDST: 1426 HRS, JAN 10, 2015