AirAsia plane with 162 aboard missing in Indonesia

AirAsia has established an Emergency Call Centre that is available for family or friends of those who may have been on board the aircraft. The number is: +622129850801.

An AirAsia plane with 162 people aboard lost contact with ground control on Sunday after takeoff from Indonesia on the way to Singapore, and search and rescue operations were underway.

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 Singapore Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. The contact was lost about 42 minutes after takeoff from Indonesia’s Surabaya airport, Hadi Mustofa, an official of the transportation ministry told Indonesia’s MetroTV.

AirAsia said in a statement that the plane was an Airbus A320-200 and that search and rescue operations were in progress.

Mr. Mustofa said the plane had seven crew and 155 passengers, and lost contact when it was believed to be over the Java Sea between Kalimantan and Java islands.

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.

In a Facebook post AirAsia confimed that “flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control”.

“AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24hrs this morning.

“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.

“The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC.

“At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service.

“AirAsia has established an Emergency Call Centre that is available for family or friends of those who may have been on board the aircraft. The number is: +622129850801.

“AirAsia will release further information as soon as it becomes available. Updated information will also be posted on the AirAsia website, www.airasia.com.