Second US ship to help AirAsia search

The US navy plans to send a second ship to help search for wreckage from an AirAsia jet that apparently crashed off the Indonesian coast, the Pentagon says.

The USS Fort Worth, a littoral combat ship, is "prepared to deploy from the region from Singapore," spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told CNN.

"That ship can be ready to sail in a day or two," Kirby said.

A US destroyer, the USS Sampson, has already deployed to the area to aid with international efforts to find debris and bodies from the passenger plane that disappeared with 162 people on board.

The navy also was ready to provide maritime patrol aircraft to "help map the debris field on the surface" as well as sonar equipment if necessary to track down wreckage at the bottom of the sea, Kirby added.