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PHOTOS: Wait Begins For Missing AirAsia Flight With 162 Passengers On Board

PHOTOS: AirAsia Flight With 162 Passengers On Board Goes Missing
Relatives of the passengers of AirAsia flight QZ8501 comfort each other at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. The AirAsia plane with 161 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore, and search and rescue operations were underway. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Relatives of the passengers of AirAsia flight QZ8501 comfort each other at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. The AirAsia plane with 161 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore, and search and rescue operations were underway. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

An AirAsia plane with 162 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore. The two countries immediately launched a search and rescue operation but there was no word on the plane's whereabouts more than six hours after it went missing.

AirAsia, a regional low-cost carrier with presence in several Southeast Asian countries, said in a statement that the missing Airbus A320-200 was on the submitted flight plan route. However, it had requested deviation due to weather before communication with the aircraft was lost while it was still under the control of the Indonesian Air Traffic Control.

The contact was lost about 42 minutes after the single-aisle jetliner took off from Indonesia's Surabaya airport, Hadi Mustofa, an official of the transportation ministry told Indonesia's MetroTV. It was about an hour before it was scheduled to land in Singapore at 0030gmt.

Flight QZ8501 tlost communication with Jakarta's air traffic control at 7:24 a.m. Singapore time (2324 GMT Saturday) about an hour before it was scheduled to land in Singapore, the Singapore Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.

At Surabaya airport, dozens of relatives sat in a room, many of them talking on mobile phones and crying. Some looked dazed.

ASSOCIATED PRESS
An airport official checks a map of Indonesia at the crisis center set up by local authority for the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501, at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. The AirAsia plane with over 160 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from the provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Relatives of the passengers onboard AirAsia flight QZ8501, check the plane's manifest at a crisis center set up by local authority at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. The AirAsia plane with over 160 people onboard, lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from the provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Relatives of the passengers onboard AirAsia flight QZ8501 check the plane's manifest at a crisis center set up by local authority at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. The AirAsia plane with over 160 people onboard, lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from the provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Electronic sign boards instructing relatives and next-of-kin to gather at a holding area are placed in various places at the Changi International Airport where AirAsia flight QZ8501 from Surabaya was scheduled to land, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014 in Singapore. An AirAsia plane with 162 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore. The two countries immediately launched a search and rescue operation but there was no word on the plane's whereabouts more than six hours after it went missing. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
An electronic kiosk providing flight information shows the status for AirAsia flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore as "Ask Airline," Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014 at the Changi International Airport in Singapore. An AirAsia plane with more than 160 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore. The two countries immediately launched a search and rescue operation but there was no word on the plane's whereabouts more than six hours after it went missing. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
People walk past a sign board instructing relatives and next-of-kin to gather at a holding area at the Changi International Airport where AirAsia flight QZ8501 from Surabaya was scheduled to land, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014 in Singapore. In the third air incident connected to Malaysia this year, an AirAsia plane with 162 people on board went missing on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Electronic sign boards instructing relatives and next-of-kin to gather at a holding area are placed at the Changi International Airport where AirAsia flight QZ8501 from Surabaya was scheduled to land, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014 in Singapore. An AirAsia plane with more than 160 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore. The two countries immediately launched a search and rescue operation but there was no word on the plane's whereabouts more than six hours after it went missing. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Relatives of the passengers of AirAsia flight QZ8501 comfort each other at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. The AirAsia plane with 162 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore, and search and rescue operations were underway. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A relative of AirAsia flight QZ8501 passengers weeps as she waits for the latest news on the missing jetliner at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. The AirAsia plane with 162 people on board lost contact with ground control on Sunday while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from the provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
Suhaimi Abdullah via Getty Images
SINGAPORE - DECEMBER 28: A woman leaves a holding area for friends and relatives of passengers on AirAsia flight QZ8501 at Changi Airport on December 28, 2014 in Singapore. AirAsia announced that the flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control on the morning of December 28. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
Suhaimi Abdullah via Getty Images
SINGAPORE - DECEMBER 28: Staff from the Indonesian embassy leave a holding area for friends and relatives of passengers on AirAsia flight QZ8501 at Changi Airport on December 28, 2014 in Singapore. AirAsia announced that the flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control on the morning of December 28. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
Suhaimi Abdullah via Getty Images
SINGAPORE - DECEMBER 28: A woman arrives at a holding area for friends and relatives of passengers on AirAsia flight 8501 at Changi Airport on December 28, 2014 in Singapore. AirAsia announced that the flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control on the morning of December 28. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
Suhaimi Abdullah via Getty Images
SINGAPORE - DECEMBER 28: Police stand guard at a holding area for friends and relatives of passengers on AirAsia flight 8501 at Changi Airport on December 28, 2014 in Singapore. AirAsia announced that the flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control on the morning of December 28. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
Suhaimi Abdullah via Getty Images
SINGAPORE - DECEMBER 28: A sign provides information for friends and relatives of passengers on AirAsia flight QZ8501 at Changi Airport on December 28, 2014 in Singapore. AirAsia announced that the flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control on the morning of December 28. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
Suhaimi Abdullah via Getty Images
SINGAPORE - DECEMBER 28: A woman arrives at a holding area for friends and relatives of passengers on AirAsia flight QZ8501 at Changi Airport on December 28, 2014 in Singapore. AirAsia announced that the flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control on the morning of December 28. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.