Investigators have said they expect their report into the cause of the 2009 Air France disaster over the Atlantic to be ready no sooner than early 2012.

Speaking in Paris, they said it could take months to interpret data from the flight recorders, which were finally fished from the sea last month.

The boxes, preserved in demineralised water, were displayed before being taken away for examination.

Some 50 bodies remain at the crash site, the investigators said.

Flight AF 447 went down on 1 June after running into an intense high-altitude thunderstorm, four hours into a flight from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Paris.

Those on board came from more than 30 countries, though most were French, Brazilian or German.

The wreckage of the plane was discovered after a search of 10,000 sq km (3,860 sq miles) of sea floor.

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