An AirAsia aircraft with 155 passengers and seven crew members on board has gone missing.
The Airbus 320-200 took off from Surabaya, Indonesia at 5.20am local time (6.20am Malaysian time) and was due to arrive in Singapore two hours later, but has lost contact with air traffic control.
LIVE REPORTS
12.50pm: CNN Indonesia reports that the last known location of the plane is believed to be around the island of Belitung, west coast of Sumatera.
This is according to Indonesia's Transportation Safety Commission official Tatang Kurniadi, who says that the authorities are now zeroing in on the flight's exact last known location.
A team of search and rescue operators are on their way towards Belitung right now, he adds.
12.35pm: Indonesian news agency Kompas.com is reporting that there have been sightings of a plane having crashed off the island of Belitung, Indonesia - though the exact location has not yet been verified.
A village chief in Beltim reportedly received a call from one his villagers about a flight crashing off Belitung island, and he has notified authorities regarding the news.
12.24pm: The following is the statement released by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore:
An Indonesia AirAsia aircraft, QZ8501, scheduled to arrive at 0830 hours local time from Surabaya, lost contact with Jakarta air traffic control at 0724 hours local time today.
Singapore air traffic control was informed of this loss of contact at 0754 hours by Jakarta air traffic control.
The aircraft was in the Indonesian Flight Information Region (FIR) when contact was lost, more than 200 nm southeast of the Singapore-Jakarta FIR boundary.
Search and rescue operations have been activated by the Indonesian authorities from the Pangkal Pinang Search and Rescue office.
The Singapore Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC), managed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and supported by various agencies, including the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), has also been activated and has offered help to the Indonesian authorities.
Two C130s are already on stand-by for this purpose. We remain ready to provide any assistance to support the search and rescue effort. The CAAS and Changi Airport Group (CAG) Crisis Management Centres have already been activated. We are working with the airline's crisis management team.
A waiting area, and all necessary facilities and support have been set up for relatives and friends of the affected passengers at Changi Airport Terminal 2 (Level 3).
Further updates will be provided once more information is available.
12.12pm: According to the Straits Times, the flight has 162 people on board, with 155 passengers.
The Airbus 320-200 took off from Surabaya, Indonesia at 5.20am local time (6.20am Malaysian time) and was due to arrive in Singapore two hours later, but has lost contact with air traffic control.
LIVE REPORTS
12.50pm: CNN Indonesia reports that the last known location of the plane is believed to be around the island of Belitung, west coast of Sumatera.
This is according to Indonesia's Transportation Safety Commission official Tatang Kurniadi, who says that the authorities are now zeroing in on the flight's exact last known location.
A team of search and rescue operators are on their way towards Belitung right now, he adds.
12.35pm: Indonesian news agency Kompas.com is reporting that there have been sightings of a plane having crashed off the island of Belitung, Indonesia - though the exact location has not yet been verified.
A village chief in Beltim reportedly received a call from one his villagers about a flight crashing off Belitung island, and he has notified authorities regarding the news.
12.24pm: The following is the statement released by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore:
An Indonesia AirAsia aircraft, QZ8501, scheduled to arrive at 0830 hours local time from Surabaya, lost contact with Jakarta air traffic control at 0724 hours local time today.
Singapore air traffic control was informed of this loss of contact at 0754 hours by Jakarta air traffic control.
The aircraft was in the Indonesian Flight Information Region (FIR) when contact was lost, more than 200 nm southeast of the Singapore-Jakarta FIR boundary.
Search and rescue operations have been activated by the Indonesian authorities from the Pangkal Pinang Search and Rescue office.
The Singapore Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC), managed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and supported by various agencies, including the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), has also been activated and has offered help to the Indonesian authorities.
Two C130s are already on stand-by for this purpose. We remain ready to provide any assistance to support the search and rescue effort. The CAAS and Changi Airport Group (CAG) Crisis Management Centres have already been activated. We are working with the airline's crisis management team.
A waiting area, and all necessary facilities and support have been set up for relatives and friends of the affected passengers at Changi Airport Terminal 2 (Level 3).
Further updates will be provided once more information is available.
12.12pm: According to the Straits Times, the flight has 162 people on board, with 155 passengers.
- 149 Indonesians
- 3 Koreans
- 1 British
- 1 Singaporean
- 1 Malaysian
Early figures show that there are 138 adults, 16 children and 1 baby on board the flight, which has been missing for about fours hours now.
There are seven crew members - one pilot, one first officer, an engineer and four flight attendants.
In addition, AirAsia has notably changed its Facebook profile picture to black and white shortly after confirming that it has lost contact with the flight.
The move has been followed by other AirAsia regional Facebookpages, such as AirAsia Korea and AirAsia Philippines.
11.43am: AirAsia Indonesia issues a statement on the disappearance:
AirAsia Indonesia Flight QZ8501
AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24hrs this morning.
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.
There are seven crew members - one pilot, one first officer, an engineer and four flight attendants.
In addition, AirAsia has notably changed its Facebook profile picture to black and white shortly after confirming that it has lost contact with the flight.
The move has been followed by other AirAsia regional Facebookpages, such as AirAsia Korea and AirAsia Philippines.
11.43am: AirAsia Indonesia issues a statement on the disappearance:
AirAsia Indonesia Flight QZ8501
AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24hrs this morning.
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.
