A major search operation into the missing AirAsia plane carrying 162 people that lost contact with ground control has been suspended for the night.
The search operation for the plane, which is believed to have gone missing while flying over the Java sea, was halted as darkness fell and will resume in the morning at 6am local time.
The Singapore-bound plane had taken off from the provincial city of Surabaya in Indonesia, and lost contact with air traffic control at 7:24am Singaporean local time, nearly two hours after take-off.
Both countries are now conducting a major search and rescue operation for flight QZ8501, and South Korea has said it will help also.
There was no update on the plane’s whereabouts more than six hours after it went missing, AirAsia has taken to social media networks to urge members of the public to pray for those on board flight QZ8501, which went missing early on Sunday between Indonesia and Singapore.
The Singapore-bound plane had taken off from the provincial city of Surabaya in Indonesia, and lost contact with air traffic control at 7:24am Singaporean local time, nearly two hours after take-off.
Both countries are now conducting a major search and rescue operation for flight QZ8501, and South Korea has said it will help also.
There was no update on the plane’s whereabouts more than six hours after it went missing, AirAsia has taken to social media networks to urge members of the public to pray for those on board flight QZ8501, which went missing early on Sunday between Indonesia and Singapore.
Using the hashtag #PrayForQZ8501, the airline confirmed on Twitter that the plane carrying 162 people lost contact with air traffic controllers at 7.24am (11.24pm GMT). A short while later, AirAsia changed the colour of its logo across various social media accounts to grey, in an apparent mark of respect for those missing.
Tony Fernandes, the airline’s chief executive and owner of the Premier League football club Queens Park Rangers, adopted the greyed-out logo for his own Twitter profile, where he posted a full statement in response to the incident.
“Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers,” he wrote. “We must stay strong.”
The Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak, has also used Twitter to express solidarity with AirAsia over Sunday’s incident.
“Very sad to hear that AirAsia Indonesia QZ8501 is missing,” he said. “My thoughts are with the families. Malaysia stands ready to help.”
For members of the public, the Twitter hashtags #AirAsia and #QZ8501 proved most popular among those discussing the missing jet.
Using both, the actor Harry Cook responded by saying: “I just don’t understand how in this day and age with all our modern technology a plane can just vanish. Horrific.”
AirAsia itself has a very strong track record in terms of safety, and has never lost a plane before.
However, in 2007, an Indonesia-owned Adam Air flight carrying 102 people vanished during a domestic flight. Debris was found a few days later, but much of the fuselage remains on the ocean floor.
In 1995, another Indonesian plane, Merpati Nusantara Airlines, also disappeared over open water while flying between islands in the archipelago nation. The 14 crew and passengers were never found.
Tony Fernandes, the airline’s chief executive and owner of the Premier League football club Queens Park Rangers, adopted the greyed-out logo for his own Twitter profile, where he posted a full statement in response to the incident.
“Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers,” he wrote. “We must stay strong.”
The Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak, has also used Twitter to express solidarity with AirAsia over Sunday’s incident.
“Very sad to hear that AirAsia Indonesia QZ8501 is missing,” he said. “My thoughts are with the families. Malaysia stands ready to help.”
For members of the public, the Twitter hashtags #AirAsia and #QZ8501 proved most popular among those discussing the missing jet.
Using both, the actor Harry Cook responded by saying: “I just don’t understand how in this day and age with all our modern technology a plane can just vanish. Horrific.”
AirAsia itself has a very strong track record in terms of safety, and has never lost a plane before.
However, in 2007, an Indonesia-owned Adam Air flight carrying 102 people vanished during a domestic flight. Debris was found a few days later, but much of the fuselage remains on the ocean floor.
In 1995, another Indonesian plane, Merpati Nusantara Airlines, also disappeared over open water while flying between islands in the archipelago nation. The 14 crew and passengers were never found.