The News Minute| December 28, 2014| 9.44 am IST
(Last updated - December 28, 6:40 pm IST)
An AirAsia Airbus with 162 people on board disappeared on Sunday morning amid thunderstorms while on way from Indonesia to Singapore, prompting the military to launch a major search that was called off at dusk.
The aircraft took off at 5.20 a.m. (local time) from the Indonesian city of Surabaya and was to land at Singapore's Changi Airport at 8.30 a.m., the low-cost airline owned by an Indian-origin Malaysian and officials said.
Indonesian officials said the pilot sought an unusual route due to thunderstorms between Kalimantan and Belitung island, before the aircraft lost contact with the air traffic control.
The aircraft was then at 32,000 feet over Java Sea, in Indonesian territory.
"The weather was not good, it was bad at the estimated location when the plane lost contact," an Indonesian transport ministry official added.
The plane carried 162 passengers and crew on board. These included 138 adults, 16 children, an infant, two pilots and five cabin crew.
AirAsia said in a statement that the plane was an Airbus A320-200 and that search and rescue operations were in progress. Indonesian TV reported that the flight has 155 passengers and seven crew members.
Air Asia has also said that the captain in command had a total of 6,100 flying hours and the first officer a total of 2,275 flying hours
There were 155 passengers on board, with 138 adults, 16 children and 1 infant. Also on board were 2 pilots and 5 cabin crew.
The airline has also put out a statement on the nationalities of passengers and crew onboard:
1 Singapore
1 Malaysia
3 South Korean
157 Indonesia
At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service.
In no time, the air force and navy ships from Indonesia and Singapore launched a major search for the missing plane in the Java sea. Australia too has offered help, and so has Malaysia.
Rescuers suspended their operation at nightfall on Sunday. An official with Indonesia's transport ministry said the search will resume on Monday.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said the plane went off the radar 42 minutes after take-off, The Star newspaper said.
"This means the possibility of something untoward happening to the aircraft," he said in Kuala Lumpur.
Grieving family members and friends of the passengers thronged the airports at Surabaya, to which most of the passengers belonged, as well as Singapore. Some wept openly.
AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes flew from Malaysia to Surabaya. "My prayers are with the (distraught) families," he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiang Lai rubbished claims that wreckage of the aircraft was found in the search area.
The incident comes at the end of a disastrous year for Malaysia's airlines.
National flag carrier Malaysia Airlines lost two aircraft this year. Its flight MH370 went missing March 8 en route Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board.
On July 17, Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.
AirAsia, which started operations under the present ownership in 2001, flies to 88 destinations.
The airline has also 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."
With Inputs from IANS