AirAsia QZ8501: No trace of missing plane, Indonesia says it could to be ‘at bottom of sea’

The search for a missing AirAsia jet expanded Monday with planes and ships from several countries taking part.

First Admiral Sigit Setiayana, the Naval Aviation Center commander at the Surabaya air force base, said that 12 navy ships, five planes, three helicopters and a number of warships were talking part, along with ships and planes from Singapore and Malaysia. The Australian Air Force also sent a search plane.

India puts 3 ships, plane on standby

Setiaya said visibility was good. “God willing, we can find it soon,” he said.

In pics: Worried relatives rush to airport for any news

The plane’s disappearance and suspected crash caps an astonishingly tragic year for air travel in Southeast Asia. The Malaysia-based carrier’s loss comes on top of the still-unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in March and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in July over Ukraine.

LIVE MISSING AIRASIA QZ8501 FLIGHT UPDATES

#First Admiral Sigit Setiayana, the Naval Aviation Center commander at the Surabaya air force base, said 12 navy ships, five planes, three helicopters and a number of warships were taking part, along with ships and planes from Singapore and Malaysia. The Australian Air Force also sent a search plane. Setiayana said visibility was good. “God willing, we can find it soon,” he told The Associated Press.

# “Based on the coordinates that we know, the evaluation would be that any estimated crash position is in the sea, and that the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea,” National Search and Rescue chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo told a news conference.

Relatives of the passengers of AirAsia flight QZ8015 wait for the latest news on the search of the missing jetliner at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya. (Source: AP)

# At the Surabaya airport, passengers’ relatives pored over the plane’s manifest, crying and embracing. Nias Adityas, a housewife from Surabaya, was overcome with grief when she found the name of her husband, Nanang Priowidodo, on the list. The 43-year-old tour agent had been taking a family of four on a trip to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia’s Lombok island.

# https://twitter.com/tonyfernandes/status/549429189321822208

# https://twitter.com/tonyfernandes/status/549429538396962816

# https://twitter.com/tonyfernandes/status/549435182407618561

# Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Indonesia is currently stationed at the family centre in Surabaya.

# AirAsia has been keeping the families updated on the search and rescue efforts as well as provide emotional support.

# Here is what might have happened to missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 READ: http://iexp.in/YSF132711

# An Indonesian official says objects have been spotted in the sea by a search plane hunting for the missing AirAsia jet.

# “However, we cannot be sure whether it is part of the missing AirAsia plane,” Putranto says, “We are now moving in that direction, which is in cloudy conditions.”

#  READ: Indonesian family of 10 misses ill-fated AirAsia flight QZ8501 

# READ: Three differences between MH370 and AirAsia Flight QZ8501 incidents

# An Indonesian helicopter saw two oily spots in the search area Monday afternoon.