(VOVworld) - An AirAsia plane traveling from Indonesia to Singapore with over 160 people on board has lost contact with air traffic control while flying over the Java Sea.

AirAsia Airbus A320-200. Photo: AFP

Search and rescue operations are under way after flight QZ8501, an Airbus A320-200 that departed from the Indonesian city of Surabaya, went missing. The flight lost communication with Jakarta’s air traffic control at 7.24am Singapore time, about an hour before it was scheduled to land in Singapore, said Hadi Mustofa, an official of the Indonesian transportation ministry. The plane had six crew and 155 passengers, including 16 children and one infant. There were six foreigners: three South Koreans, 1 Britons, and a Malaysian.