NDEGE YA ABIRIA YAPOTEA WATU 160 WAHOFIWA KUPOTEA

BREAKING NEWS: NDEGE YA AIRASIA (QZ8501) IMEPOTEA LEO HII IKIWA NA WATU ZAIDI YA 160 IKITOKEA INDONESIA KWENDA SINGAPORE.

(CNN) -- AirAsia Flight 8501 has lost contact with traffic control in Jakarta, Indonesia, the airline's crisis center said Sunday.

"We have no further information. A crisis center has been set up. We are seeking more information to provide," the center said.

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From BBC

An AirAsia flight travelling from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control, the company has said.

Indonesian media say more than 160 people were on board the Airbus A320-200.

The aircraft, flight number QZ8501, lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24 (00:24 GMT), AirAsia tweeted.

The company said that search and rescue operations were under way for the missing plane.

An official with the transport ministry, Hadi Mustofa, told local media the plane lost contact over the Java Sea, which lies between Surabaya and Singapore.

He said the plane had asked for an unusual route before it lost contact.

AirAsia have given few other details.

"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," a company statement said.

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A search and rescue operation is underway after an AirAsia flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore with 162 people onboard lost contact with air traffic control on Sunday.

The passengers onboard the flight include 138 adults, 16 children and one baby, and seven crew.

Reports said there were 149 Indonesian passengers onboard, three South Koreans, one Briton, one Singaporean, and one Malaysian. No Australians were said to be on the plane.

A news conference was due to start at 4pm AEDST at Surabaya airport. Airport officials and spokespeople from AirAsia and the Indonesian search and rescue agency Basarnas, and the Indonesian air force will address it.

Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa said the aircraft, flight number QZ 8501, lost contact with the Jakarta air traffic control tower early Sunday morning. AirAsia said this occured at 7.24am local time (11.17am AEDST).

The plane departed at 5.35am Indonesian time (9.35am AEDST) and was scheduled to arrive at 8.30am Singapore time (10.30am AEDST).

Mr Mustafa said the last communication was from the pilot asking for permission to change the height from 32,000 to 34,000 feet in the Kumai Strait near Belitung due to bad weather.

A crisis centre has been set up at Surabaya airport and relatives have begun arriving to tearfully view a full list of names of those who were on the flight.

Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla tweeted: "We pray together with hope that the AirAsia plane QZ8501 SBY-Sin, which lost contact, is soon found and all passengers and crew have survived."