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AirAsia flight from Indonesia to Singapore missing with 162 on it

SINGAPORE/JAKARTA: An AirAsia plane 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.

AirAsia flight from Indonesia to Singapore missing with 162 on it

A relative of AirAsia flight QZ8501 passengers weep as she waits for the latest news on the missing jetliner at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Indonesia, on Sunday. PTI



Singapore/Jakarta, December 28

An AirAsia plane 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.

A total of 156 were Indonesian nationals. There were three South Koreans and one person each from France, Malaysia and Singapore.

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.

According to AirAsia, the captain of the Airbus A320-200 has 6,100 flying hours and the first officer 2,275 flying hours to their credit.

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, the Indian Navy on Sunday was put on standby for search and rescue operations after an AirAsia flight, travelling from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore, lost contact with the air traffic control (ATC) earlier in the day.

Indian Navy sources said one ship in Bay of Bengal and another two in Andaman Sea have been put on standby.

Along with these, a P-8I aircraft has also been put on standby. The aircraft is used for maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare operations.

"The assets have been put on standby in view of the gravity of situation. They will be rushed into service as and when any order is issued," the sources said.

Also, 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. In India, AirAsia's maiden flight took off June 11 from Bengaluru to Panjim.

The Indo-Malaysian joint venture of AirAsia flies to and from Bengaluru, Jaipur, Chennai, Kochi, Chandigarh, Pune and Goa, an airline spokesperson told.

It also flies between Kuala Lumpur and Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu and Kolkata and connects Chennai and Bangkok.

Says the AirAsia web site: "Our commitment to low fares lies in our promise of 'Now Everyone Can Fly'."  "Our service targets guests who can do without the frills of full-service airlines in exchange for low fares."

Agencies

 

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