The cockpit voice recorder (CVR), commonly referred to as one of the two black boxes of the aircraft, has now been recovered from the debris, local media reported. The critical piece of equipment could include pilots' conversations from the cockpit, alarms and background sounds from the moments before the devastating crash.

Three days after the crash, only 35 bodies had been handed over to relatives from an overall official death toll of 270.

HONG KONG -- An Air India flight returned to Hong Kong on Monday shortly after takeoff due to a midair technical issue, days after another of the airline's flights crashed and killed at least 270 people.