Improved weather conditions assisted rescue teams searching for the victims of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 in the Java Sea yesterday, enabling a further 21 bodies to be recovered.

Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo said that ships from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the US were scouring the ocean floor to try to pinpoint wreckage and the important black boxes.

In addition to heavy rain, fierce winds and high waves that have hampered the search, strong sea currents have kept debris moving.

That has severely slowed recovery efforts as bodies drift further away.

Warship Bung Tomo commander Colonel Yayan Sofiyan said that his vessel had pulled seven bodies from the choppy waters yesterday, five of them still fastened in their seats.

This might indicate problems such as a mechanical error or a stall instead of a mid-air break-up due to an explosion or sudden depressurisation.

Four crash victims have been identified and returned to their families for burial.