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AirAsia plane with 162 missing in Indonesia; 3 Koreans aboard

December 27, 2014

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)

The Malaysia-based company is a regional low-cost carrier with a presence in several Southeast Asian countries.

The Korea Times Seoul staff

An AirAsia plane lost contact with air traffic control Sunday while flying from Indonesia to Singapore. The Associated Press (AP) reported that the plane was carrying 162 people including three South Koreans.

Flight QZ8501 took off from Surabaya in East Java and was bound for Singapore. It lost contact with air traffic control in Indonesia at 06:17 a.m. (23:17 GMT). It was to arrive at the destination at 8:30 a.m. this morning.

An official from AirAsia said the company is working to gather more data on the accident, and that a search and rescue operation was underway.

Of the people aboard the plane, six were crew. The passengers included 16 children and one infant, the AP reported.

The three South Koreans included an infant. A Singaporean person, a British person and a Malaysian person were aboard. The rest were reportedly Indonesian.

The plane reportedly lost contact when it was believed to be over the Java Sea between Kalimantan and Java islands.

The Malaysia-based company is a regional low-cost carrier with a presence in several Southeast Asian countries. The company said the missing plane was an Airbus A320-200.