Belitung Island Crash: Reports Say a Plane Crashed Near Belitung Timur, Indonesia; Unclear if AirAsia Flight QZ-8501
Lien retiré
Indonesian media reports on Sunday say that there’s reports of a plane crash near Belitung Island. A ground crew man walks past a fleet of AirAsia's passenger jets on the tarmac of the new low cost terminal KLIA2 in Sepang, Malaysia, Friday, May 9, 2014. AirAsia on Friday began its full operations from KLIA2. (AP Photo/Joshua Paul)
Indonesian media reports on Sunday say a plane has crashed off waters near Belitung Timur.
It’s unclear if it’s AirAsia Flight QZ-8501, which went missing on early Sunday morning going from Indonesia to Singapore.
According to the Malaysian Insider on Sunday:
An aircraft has reportedly crashed in the waters off East Belitung, off the east coast of Sumatra, after authorities confirmed that AirAsia Flight QZ8501 went missing earlier today.
The Bangka Pos news portal said there was no confirmation of the crash site.
AirAsia said in a statement that the plane was an Airbus A320-200 and that search and rescue operations were in progress.
The plane had six crew and 155 passengers, including 16 children and one infant, the general manager of Surabaya’s Juanda airport, Trikora Raharjo, told The Associated Press.
There were six foreigners — three South Koreans including an infant and one each from Singapore, British and Malaysia, said Raharjo. The rest were Indonesians, he said.
The plane lost contact when it was believed to be over the Java Sea between Kalimantan and Java islands, Mustofa said.
He said the weather in the area was cloudy.
The Singapore aviation authority said it was informed about the missing plane by Jakarta ground control about half an hour after the contact was lost.
“Search and rescue operations have been activated by the Indonesian authorities,” it said, adding that the Singapore air force and the navy also were activated with two C-130 planes.
AirAsia also issued a statement reads on
Facebook:
AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24hrs this morning.
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.
The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC.
At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service.
AirAsia has established an Emergency Call Centre that is available for family or friends of those who may have been on board the aircraft. The number is: +622129850801.
AirAsia will release further information as soon as it becomes available. Updated information will also be posted on the AirAsia website, www.airasia.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.