DHAKA: The Indonesian authorities said on Sunday that strong signals were emanating from the crucial black box recorders of an AirAsia plane that crashed into the sea two weeks ago, killing all 162 people on board.

Military divers were trying to follow the pings to the boxes, believed to be on the floor of the Java Sea about 30m underwater, SB Supriyadi, a director with the National Search and Rescue Agency, told the media.

The hunt came after the mangled tail of the Airbus jet was lifted from the sea on Saturday. ‘The ping was detected about 1km east of the tail,’ Supriyadi told the media at the search headquarters of Panglakun Bun, The Straits Times publishes this report on Sunday.

The Indonesian meteorological agency has said stormy weather likely caused the Airbus A320-200 to crash. But a definitive answer is impossible without the black boxes, which should contain the pilots’ final words as well as various flight data.

BDST: 1205 HRS, JAN 11, 2015