Update 31 Dec: Indonesian officials have confirmed a warship has recovered three bodies from the sea while searching for the downed AirAsia aircraft.
This comes after the country’s navy retracted a statement that more than 40 bodies had been retrieved, stating it was a miscommunication amongst staff.
Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency said the three bodies were recovered and are now onboard the warship Bung Tomo.
The unidentified bodies were located after an Indonesian air force plane spotted items in the sea that resembled an emergency slide, plane door and other aircraft objects.
We are deeply saddened by the news of QZ8501. Heartfelt condolences to loved ones of those affected #togetherwestand pic.twitter.com/gFHpYAJpAq
— AirAsia (@AirAsia) December 30, 2014
According to an AirAsia statement, the debris was found in the Karimata Strait around 110 nautical miles south west from Pangkalan Bun. AirAsia’s group chief executive Tony Fernandes said he is ‘absolutely devastated’.
“This is a very difficult moment for all of us at AirAsia as we await further developments of the search and rescue operations but our first priority now is the wellbeing of the family members of those onboard QZ8501.”
Tony Fernandes, AirAsia chief executive
UPDATE 29 Dec: Search for the missing AirAsia plane resumed this morning, with officials now suspecting the aircraft may be at the bottom of the sea. Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency chief said at a press conference that a preliminary suspicion is that the plane is underwater.
“Based on the coordinates given to us and evaluation that the estimated crash position is in the sea, the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea.”
Bambang Soelistyo, National Search and Rescue chief executive
Earlier today officials said they’re hopeful the aircraft will be located quickly, but noted that it was too early to detect electronic signals from the black box.
AirAsia’s chief executive Tony Fernandes flew to Surabaya Airport yesterday where the majority of families are awaiting more information.
UPDATE 28 Dec: An AirAsia flight carrying over 160 people has gone missing while flying from Indonesia to Singapore.
The airline confirmed the news through Twitter:
AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact at 07:24hrs this morning http://t.co/WomRQuzcPO — AirAsia (@AirAsia) December 28, 2014
Flight QZ8501 was carrying seven crew members – two pilots, four cabin staff and one engineer; and 155 passengers – 138 adults, 16 children and one infant.
Nationalities of crew and passengers were: 156 Indonesian, three South Korean, one French, one Singaporean and one Malaysian.
The airline said air control lost contact with the A320-200 around 07.24hrs – 42 minutes after takeoff.
Singapore’s Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft was in the Indonesian Flight Information Region when it went missing – flying southeast of the Singapore-Jakarta boundary.
According to the airline, prior to losing contact pilots had contacted ground control to request permission to deviate off route due to bad weather.
“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.”
AirAsia statement
A search and rescue is now underway and is being led by 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.
AirAsia says it is cooperating with rescue services.
An emergency call centre has been established to assist family or friends of those who may have been travelling on the aircraft. The number is: +622129850801.
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).
This page will be updated as more news comes to hand.
