QZ8501 believed crashed near Belitung, boats despatched, says Indonesian SAR

Anxious relatives waiting for news of flight QZ8051 at Juanda international airport in Surabaya in East Java, Indonesia. – AFP pic, December 28, 2014.Missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 is believed to have crashed at the location 03.22.46 South and 108.50.07 East, in waters around 80 to 100 nautical miles from Belitung, according to Indonesia's search and rescue agency.

A National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) official from Pangkalpinang, Supriandi, was reported by Antara news agency as saying it had dispatched a rescue team to Belitung.

The Singapore-bound Airbus A320-200 from Surabaya had circled over the sea near Belitung to avoid a storm before it experienced severe turbulence and crashed into the ocean, reports said.

The flight was carrying 155 passengers on board, including 16 children and one infant, and seven crew members. The passengers comprise 149 Indonesians, three South Koreans, one Singaporean, one Malaysian and one Briton.

The crew comprises six Indonesians and a French national, who is the First Officer.

With hard details few and far between, panicked relatives gathered at Singapore's Changi airport, AFP reported.

Hundreds of Indonesians also descended on the Surabaya terminal hoping for news of the missing jet.

A 45-year-old woman told AFP that she had six family members on the plane.

"They were going to Singapore for a holiday," she said.

"They have always flown with AirAsia and there was no problem. I am shocked to hear the news, and I am very worried that the plane might have crashed."

This is the first major incident for Asia's largest low-cost carrier group. The missing jet is operated by AirAsia Indonesia, which is 49% owned by the Malaysia-based AirAsia Bhd.

Bangkapos.com reported that fishermen in east Belitung claimed to have heard a loud explosion near the coast of Kelapa Kampit between 7am and 8am Indonesian time.

The information was then channeled to Tagana (a disaster management group) to engage in a search and rescue effort.

The Indonesian news portal reported that the fishermen were fishing off the Kelapa Kampit coast when they heard the sound, roughly 10 kilometres away.

They were, however, unable to pinpoint the exact location of the explosion and suspected it could have originated near Pulau Nangka in Belitung Timur.

Plane manufacturer Airbus Industrie have informed the media that the particular Airbus A320-200 was delivered to AirAsia in October 2008.

The aircraft is powered by CFM 56-5B engines and has accumulated approximately 23,000 flight hours in some 13,600 flights.

The A320-200 is a twin-engine single-aisle aircraft seating up to 180 passengers in a single-class configuration. – December 28, 2014.AirAsia flight QZ8501 disappeared from radar at approximately 6.18am (7.18am, Malaysian time) today, halfway between Surabaya and Singapore. – AFP graphics, December 28, 2014.