The fuselage of the crashed AirAsia passenger jet has been discovered, raising hopes that more missing bodies will be recovered.

Bambang Soelistyo, Head of National Search and Rescue Agency

"The location where we found the fuselage was about 3,000 meters from the area where we found the tail section of the plane and 800 meters from the place where we found the FDRs (Flight Data Recorders)."

Handout photos from the agency show images of the fuselage taken by a Remotely Operated Vehicle.

The discovery was made at night so no divers have visited the wreckage just yet.

The goal is to send some to the underwater scene later today to confirm if there are more bodies trapped in the passenger and crew areas of flight 8501.