JAKARTA: Indonesia resumed a sea and aerial search at dawn today for an Indonesia AirAsia plane that went missing in the Java Sea with 162 people on board, an official said, as anguished relatives waited desperately for news.
"We have resumed the search for the missing AirAsia plane at 6.00am. We are heading to east Belitung island," Tatang Zainuddin, deputy operations chief of Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) told AFP.
"We are expecting vessels and planes from Malaysia and Singapore (to assist in the search). We hope we can find the plane as soon as possible," Zainuddin said.
The Airbus A320-200 disappeared en route from Surabaya in Indonesia's east Java to Singapore after the crew requested a change of flight plan due to stormy weather, in the third crisis for a Malaysian carrier this year.
Five aircraft will be sent to search for the plane, including two C-130 military transport aircraft and a Boeing 737, Indonesian air force spokesman Hadi Cahyanto told AFP.
"Two planes have already left. Three more will follow suit. It is cloudy in some parts but still bright," Cahyanto said.
"We are focusing the search area in the waters on the eastern and northern part of Belitung island."
Australia, Malaysia and Singapore have also joined the search, which is centred on the Java Sea. The US has also said it was ready to assist.
A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion equipped with sophisticated search equipment took off Monday from the northern Australian city of Darwin while Singapore said it was deploying two C-130 aircraft in addition to naval ships already dispatched.
--AFP