Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and India join hands with Indonesia in search

The Star Online/Asian News Network

PETALING JAYA-In what seems to be another major aviation tragedy, five nations have joined hands in the massive search and rescue operation for missing Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ8501 which went off the radar en route from Surabaya to Singapore.

Indonesian air traffic control lost contact with the Airbus A320-200 aircraft at 6.24 am (Western Indonesian time, an hour behind Malaysian time) as it was flying with 155 passengers and seven crew members on board yesterday.

In a show of Asean solidarity, Malaysia and Singapore offered assistance to Indonesia to look for the plane while Australia and India have also offered to help.

The six-year-old Airbus A320-200, which was last serviced in November, was flying over the Java Sea in Indonesian airspace when communication with air traffic control ceased about 42 minutes after take-off from Juanda Airport. The aircraft was supposed to have landed at Singapore’s Changi Airport at 8.30am.

The pilot had asked for a new route minutes before he went off the radio, air traffic control said.

The plane’s last detected position was 100 nautical miles south-east of Tanjung Pandan on Belitung Island.

As at press time, QZ8501 – which was carrying 149 Indonesians, one passenger each from Malaysia, Singapore and Britain, three South Koreans and crew members comprising six Indonesians and one French – is yet to be located.

Indonesian air transportation director Joko Muryo Atmodjo said the plane was flying at 32,000 feet (9,753m) and had requested for a slight change in its flight path by “flying to the left and at 38,000 feet (11,583m) to avoid clouds”.

“The last contact with the aircraft was at 6.12am. No distress signal was sent. Therefore, we cannot assume anything,” said Joko, adding that Indonesian authorities were co-ordinating with rescue teams and looking for the plane’s position.

“We believe it is somewhere between Tanjung Pandan, a town on Belitung Island, and Kalimantan,” he said.