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Divers in Indonesia have gone down to examine the main body of AirAsia flight QZ8501, which was found at the bottom of the Java Sea on Wednesday, the BBC reported.

Most of the 162 passengers and crew of the plane are still missing, and it is hoped they are inside the fuselage.

The divers will determine whether bodies can be removed and the wreckage raised from the sea floor.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday thanked all those involved in the nearly three-week search operation.

In live televised comments, he said he was very pleased the fuselage had been found, and hoped the bodies of those still missing would soon be recovered.

Wreckage believed to be fuselage was detected earlier this week, but on Wednesday a Singaporean underwater robot was able to photograph it and confirm it was the missing section.

AirAsia's slogan "Now everyone can fly" could be seen written along the side.

The section is lying at a depth of about 28m (92ft) in the Java Sea, 3km (2 miles) from where the tail section was recovered last week.

Supriyadi, the Indonesian official co-ordinating the search and rescue operation in the nearest town to the crash site, Pangkalan Bun, said divers would be assessing whether to retrieve bodies individually or use balloons to float the entire fuselage.