An AirAsia plane plane carrying 162 people on Sunday went missing in Southeast Asia following the pilots’ request to change to a higher altitude to “avoid clouds”, during a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501, an Airbus 320-200, lost contact with Jakarta air traffic control at 6:17 a.m. (6.17 p.m. EST), officials said.
The craft had on board 155 passengers and seven crew on board. Indonesia AirAsia said 156 were Indonesian, with three from South Korea and one each from Singapore, Malaysia and France.
However, the United Kingdom Foreign Office has also noted that a British national was aboard the plane and that the next of kin have been informed.
Passengers also comprised 138 adults, 16 children.
“The aircraft was on the submitted flight plan route and was requesting deviation due to enroute weather before communication with the aircraft was lost,” the airline said in a statement.
No distress signal had been sent, said Joko Muryo Atmodjo, air transportation director at Indonesia’s transport ministry.
The search has begun for the flight as both neighboring Singapore and Malaysiahave offered to help in the process.
However, there are reports an aircraft crashed east of Belitung Island, Indonesia, but it is not confirmed to be the missing #QZ8501, according to local media.