Several dozen investigators remain on the scene. Ingrid Formanek

The crash site is still being combed for identification, debris and remains on Tuesday. Forensic investigators and Ethiopian Airlines employees are preparing to slowly walk through the site to search for evidence that has gone unnoticed, raising their hands when they come across anything significant.

Several dozen workers from multiple teams are on site, with most wearing surgical masks and some in white forensic suits.

Debris from the Boeing 737 jet has been broken into hundreds of small pieces, making the task of recovering each part complex. The largest engine piece on the site was around the size of a small table.

The plane went down in a remote area about a two hours' drive from Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Fields of maze and teff - a staple grass native to Ethiopia - surround the site, where no electricity and very little water is available.

But residents of local villages continue to travel to the scene. Around 200 surround the perimeter today, which is guarded by federal police and a militia.