Missing AirAsia plane may have crashed: Indonesia

Jakarta, Dec 28: The AirAsia plane that went missing Sunday morning with 162 people aboard might have crashed, Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said.

Kalla, who is leading the search and rescue mission, told a press conference here that the passenger jet flying from Indonesia to Singapore might have crashed but he has no information about the crash site.

"We haven't got any information that indicates where the plane (has) crashed," Kalla was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

AirAsia flight QZ 8501 lost contact with the air traffic control Sunday soon after taking off from Surabaya in Indonesia's East Java province for Singapore's Changi Airport.

The aircraft was at 32,000 feet over Java Sea in Indonesian territory when it lost contact with the air traffic control. A thunderstorm was raging in the area at that time.