AirAsia Flight With 162 People Missing

                                     Relatives of the passengers on the flight wait for the latest news

An AirAsia flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control after take-off, the airline has announced.

The missing plane was an Airbus A320-200 with 162 people on board, and was supposed to land in Singapore at 8:30am local time this morning. Flight QZ8501 was carrying 157 Indonesians, one Singaporean national, one Malaysian and three South Koreans, sixteen children and one infant.

"At the present time we unfortunately have no further information regarding the status of the passengers and crew members on board, but we will keep all parties informed as more information becomes available," the Malaysia-based airline said in a statement on Facebook.