Air Asia has confirmed it has lost contact with flight QZ8501 with 161 people aboard after takeoff from Indonesia on the way to Singapore.
An Indonesian Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa said the aircraft, an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC, lost contact with the Jakarta air traffic control tower at 6:17 am local time.
The plane had six crew and 155 passengers, including 16 children and one infant, the general manager of Surabaya's Juanda airport, Trikora Raharjo, told The Associated Press.
There were six foreigners - three South Koreans including an infant and one each from Singapore, British and Malaysia, said Raharjo. The rest were Indonesians, he said. Officials said the plane had requested an unusual route before losing contact. Mustofa told Indonesia's Metro TV that the plane lost contact somewhere between Kalimantan and Belitung island in the Java Islands. The plane lost communication with Jakarta's air traffic control at 7:24 a.m., about an hour before it was scheduled to land in Singapore. The first reports of the plane's disappearance emerged after it was overdue by three hours. It was expected to land at Changi Airport at 8.30am Singapore Time. In a statement, AirAsia Indonesia said it regretted to confirm that it had lost contact with the plane. "At the present time we unfortunately have no further information regarding the status of the passengers and crew members on board, but we will keep all parties informed as more information becomes available. "At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service."information on its website. Tatang Zainudin of Indonesia's national search and rescue agency, appearing on Indoneisan TV, said that the pilot might have faced extreme weather condition. The Singapore aviation authority said it was informed about the missing plane by Jakarta ground control about half an hour after the contact was lost. "Search and rescue operations have been activated by the Indonesian authorities," it said, adding that the Singapore air force and the navy also were activated with two C-130 planes. AirAsia has established an Emergency Call Centre at 0622129850801. It is also posting updated
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