AirAsia plane is at the bottom of the sea: search chief

Missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 has most likely crashed into the ocean, Indonesia's search chief has said.

"(Because) the coordinate that was given to us and the evolution from the calculation point of the flight track is at sea, our early conjecture is that the plane is in the bottom of the sea," Marsdya Tni Hendry Bambang said minutes ago.

Mr Bambang's prediction is based on radar data from the flight's last contact, CNN reports.

The AirAsia A320 went missing yesterday morning during rough weather on a flight from Indonesia to Singapore.

Six crew and 155 passengers were aboard the plane.

One Singaporean, one Malaysian, three South Koreans, one Briton and 149 Indonesians were on board.

One baby and 16 children were among the passengers.

Searchers say the plane disappeared over the Java Sea between Belitung and Borneo, a shallow and heavily trafficked shipping channel.

Search planes and vessels from Australia, Malaysia and Singapore have joined with Indonesian forces in the hopes of tracking down the jet.

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