More bodies, debris found, but 'zero visibility' halts AirAsia search

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Indonesian rescue personnel load coffins bearing bodies recovered from the underwater wreckage of AirAsia flight 8501 on a military plane in Pangkalan Bun on January 23, 2015. (YUDHA MANX / AFP/Getty Images)

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Indonesian rescue personnel unload bags containing bodies, recovered from the underwater wreckage of AirAsia flight 8501, from a search and rescue helicopter in Pangkalan Bun, in Central Kalimantan, on January 24, 2015. (YUDHA MANX / AFP/Getty Images)

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Indonesian rescue personnel unload a coffin bearing a body recovered from the underwater wreckage of AirAsia flight 8501 from a military plane on arrival at Surabaya located in eastern Java island on January 23, 2015. (JUNI KRISWANTO / AFP/Getty Images)

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Indonesian military personnel exhibit the cockpit voice recorder of the AirAsia flight QZ8501 after its recovery from the sea floor off the coast of Pangkalan Bun on Jan. 13, 2015. (Khairul Basyar / EPA)

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An Indonesian diver and an official examine wreckage from AirAsia Flight 8501 after it was lifted into the ship Crest Onyx on Jan. 10, 2015. (AFP/Getty Images)

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Part of AirAsia Flight 8501 is seen on a ship in the Java Sea on Jan. 10, 2015. (Prasetyo Utomo, AFP/Getty Images)

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Part of AirAsia Flight 8501 is lifted onto a ship as divers conduct operations to search for black boxes of the aircraft in the Java Sea on Jan. 10, 2015. (Prasetyo Utomo, AFP/Getty Images)

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Part of the tail of AirAsia Flight 8501 floats on the surface of the Java Sea on Jan. 10, 2015. (Adek Berry, AFP/Getty Images)

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This image released by Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency on Jan. 7, 2015, shows what was believed to be wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501, photographed by divers working in the Java Sea. (AFP/Getty Images)

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Personal effects from passengers recovered from the Java Sea are displayed in Surabaya, Indonesia, on Jan. 7, 2015. (Juni Kriswanto, AFP/Getty Images)

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A Muslim cleric scatters flowers into the sea after a prayer for the victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 inside an Indonesian air force helicopter flying over the Java Sea off Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia, on Jan. 6, 2015. (Pool/Getty Images)

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An Indonesian officer observes a Malaysian navy vessel during rescue operations for AirAsia Flight 8501 in the Karimata strait on Jan. 6, 2015. (Veri Sanovri, AFP/Getty Images)

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Members of an Indonesian search and rescue team carry items for investigation found during the search for missing AirAsia Flight 8501 on Jan. 4, 2015. (Adek Berry, AFP/Getty Images)

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A Russian BE-200 amphibious aircraft arrives to coordinate search operations for the missing AirAsia Flight 8501 with Indonesia search and rescue teams in Pangkalan Bun on Jan. 4, 2015. (Adek Berry, AFP/Getty Images)

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Relatives of Kevin Alexander Soetjipto, a passenger aboard AirAsia Flight 8501, mourn during a cremation ceremony in Lawang on Jan. 4, 2015. (Aman Rochman, AFP/Getty Images)

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Members of the Indonesian Red Cross watch over coffins containing victims of the AirAsia crash Jan. 2, 2015. (Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images)

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Indonesian officers carry a coffin with the remains of a passenger of the AirAsia Flight 8501 on Jan. 2, 2015, before it is sent to Surabaya, the town with the airstrip nearest to the crash site of AirAsia Flight 8501. (Adek Berry, AFP/Getty Images)

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Indonesian military personnel load a casket containing the body of an AirAsia Flight 8501 passenger recovered off the coast of Borneo into a vehicle at a military base in Surabaya, Indonesia, on Dec. 31, 2014. (Sigit Pamungkas/Reuters)

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Indonesians hold up candles during a vigil in Surabaya on Dec. 31, 2014, for victims of the AirAsia Flight 8501 crash. (Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

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Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik gives the final touches to his sculpture portraying two missing aircraft, AirAsia Flight 8501 and Malayasia Airlines Flight 370, on Golden Sea Beach at Puri, India, on Dec. 29, 2014. (AFP/Getty Images)

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Indonesian navy personnel help with the search for AirAsia Flight 8501 over the Java Sea on Dec. 28, 2014. (ANTARA FOTO/Reuters Photo)

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Family members of passengers aboard AirAsia Flight 8501 wait for information at the AirAsia crisis center at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Indonesia, on Dec. 28, 2014. (Antara Foto/Reuters)

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Family of passengers aboard AirAsia Flight 8501 await information at the AirAsia crisis center at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Indonesia, on Dec. 28, 2014 (Antara Foto/Reuters)

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo, center, accompanied by Gen. Moeldoko, Navy Chief Admiral Marsetio, Air Chief Marshal Ida Bagus Putu Dunia and Security Affairs Minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno, talks to reporters in Sorong, West Papua, New Guinea, on Dec. 28, 2014. (Antara Foto/Reuters)

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Family members of passengers aboard AirAsia Flight 8501 look at a passenger manifest inside a crisis center at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Indonesia, on Dec. 28, 2014. (Antara Foto/Reuters)

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Family members of passengers on missing AirAsia Flight 8501 gather at Juanda international airport in Surabaya, Indonesia, on Dec. 28, 2014 (Juni Kriswanto, AFP/Getty Images)

By Tribune wire reports

Jan. 4, 2015 6:06 AM PT

SURABAYA, Indonesia —

Search officials halted efforts to reach the submerged body of the crashed AirAsia jet on Sunday after divers faced low visibility in the murky Java Sea.

One week after the airliner went down en route from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore, recovery crews have located several large objects on the sea floor that are believed to be the fuselage of the Airbus A320-200. The flight ran into a thunderstorm but the exact cause of the crash won’t be known until the “black box” flight recorders can be retrieved from the wreckage.

Officials earlier Sunday sent 21 Indonesian navy divers equipped with cameras and sonar beacons into the water with the aim of reaching the largest object, which geological survey vessels had measured at about 60 feet long.

“But visibility on the sea floor was zero, and it was covered with mud,” Bambang Soelistyo, head of Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, told reporters. “So the effort was suspended.”

Officials tried again to deploy a remotely operated underwater vehicle to pinpoint the wreckage in roughly 100-foot waters. But stormy conditions wreaked havoc with the effort as they have for the past eight days, officials said.

“Weather remains a challenge, but there’s hope for tomorrow,” Bambang told an evening news conference.

Four more bodies were found, bringing the confirmed death toll to 34, he said. A total of 162 mostly Indonesian passengers and crew were aboard, and all are presumed dead, many believed still to be strapped into their seats in the body of the plane on the sea floor.

Indonesian Brig. Gen. Arthur Tampi, the head of the national police medical department, said as days passed it was becoming more difficult to identify victims without DNA samples from families.

“The bodies are in a state of advanced decomposition,” Tampi said. “It’s impossible to identify them visually.”

Authorities in Surabaya have identified nine of the bodies, and experts from South Korea and Australia were due to arrive Monday to help identify the others, according to a statement from AirAsia .

Teams also located a fifth large object, about 32 feet long, lying close to the others, suggesting that the body of the aircraft could be relatively intact under water and did not break up during the thunderstorm.

More stray items from the airline were recovered by crews, AirAsia said, including the emergency exit window, luggage and passenger seats. Part of the aircraft’s emergency stairs also has been found, leading some experts to speculate that the pilot could have attempted a water landing.

Two U.S. naval ships and two helicopters were participating in an effort involving 27 vessels and 20 aircraft from at least seven countries, officials said.

Special correspondent Pathoni reported from Jakarta, staff writer Bengali from Mumbai, India.