AirAsia fuselage to be lifted to surface

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia -- An Indonesian official says the crashed AirAsia jet's fuselage will be lifted to the surface after sea conditions again prevented divers from examining the large chunk of wreckage.

National Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo said Friday that rescue teams discovered more wreckage despite the strong current and poor underwater visibility. They found what are suspected to be the cockpit and an engine of the Airbus3200 plane as well as passenger seats with apparent bodies in it.

Officials have said they believe more bodies are inside the fuselage.

One victim's body was recovered on Friday, raising the total to 51. However, decomposition of the bodies is making identification more difficult for desperate families waiting to bury their loved ones.

The plane had 162 people on board when it disappeared Dec. 28 en route from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. Nearly all passengers and crew were Indonesian.

In their last contact with air-traffic controllers, the pilots of the AirAsia jet asked to climb from 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet to avoid threatening clouds, but were denied permission because of heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the plane disappeared. No distress signal was received. Bad weather is a suspected factor in the crash.