an airasia flight en route from the indonesian city of surabaya to singapore is missing. ls cnn flight 8501 lost contact with air traffic controllers early sunday morning. to be precise, we are told it lost contact at 7:24 a.m. sunday morning local time. now, the pilot reportedly requested an unusual route before the plane lost contact. the airline says a crisis center has been set up and search and rescue operations are under way. there are reports as many as 162 people are on board that airbus 320. we want to put up a shot on our screen so you can see the aircraft, the type of aircraft that we're talking about. we have a picture of that airbus 320. that's the kind of plane we're talking about. an airbus 320. indonesian tv reports that most of those on board this flight were indonesians, are indonesians i should say with three koreans, one passenger from singapore, one from the uk, and one from malaysia, all on board. now, we are standing by for a statement from the malaysia transport minister. that should be coming in to us any moment now, but it has not come through yet

the flight was carrying 162 people on the way from the indonesian city. two greek firefighting ships have been sent to help a ferry on fire in the adriatic sea. it's carrying over 470 passengers and grew from greece to italy >>> a ceremony is being held in the afghan capital kabul. 2014 is the deadliest of the war. soldiers and police have been kill. >> the iraqi army has been taking towns. security officials say it cleared some areas, says the army but they have a large presence in the province. >> the militia fighters are celebrating. they are celebrating the vens against fightser. dozens were reportedly killed. they say they are in control of both towns. >> this is a town that was invested with fightsers. they are ready to fight back. this is in front of us. we are the brigade. >> battles are continuing they are important. less than. these towns were controlled by i.s.i.l. they are pushed i.s.i.l. out. security forces consider it a gain in the battle to take part in the other parts of the province. >> they carried out more than a dozen air strikes. ira

it was travelling from the indonesian city of surabaya to singapore. air traffic control tell us they lost contact with it more than four hours ago. 150 are estimated on board. once again, this air asia indonesia flight gone missing near belitung island. as soon as we get more information we'll pass it to you >>> also ahead - the minimum wage - many want to see it raised to $15. what is could mean for employees, business owners and the economy. >>> tonight we take a deeper look at the minimum wage a subject of debate. the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 was set in july 2009. the minimum wage was introduced in the 1930s adjusted to $2,012, it peaked in 1968. back then it was $1.60. the equivalent today is $10.94. a full-time working making minimum wage earns over $15,000, just above the poverty line. if that person is the soul earner for a family of three, it puts them $3600 below the poverty line. as of january 1st, '29 states plus the distribute of columbia will have a minimum wage above the federal level of $7.25. in some states it's a quarter

al jazeera's correspondent is in the indonesian city. >> reporter: the ocean tsunami is clear on people's muned. -- minds. it's immortalized in this ship, carried 10km in. and seen her, the bodies. 1,,000 schools destroyed, and 250 rows of home, 30,000 new houses. in 2004 many were not aware of the dangers of a tsunami. warning systems are in place and warranting shelters built. 10 years litre. and why it is more likely than ever before. memories will stay forever >>> memorials are being held for tens of thousands in sri lanka who died >> reporter: the seas here, the scene of a catastrophe when the tsunami hit, a religious service to remember the nearly 5,500 people who were killed when the tidal wave hit a south bound train travelling down south was packed. it stopped down the road when the first wave hit. despite a lag him the tsunami hitting the eastern side of sri lanka, the message was not conveyed to this part of the country. it left colombo. only to get engulfed in waters. the villagers scrambled up into the train, despite advice not to do so. they thought the train, a massive stru

he's in the indonesian city of surabaya where flight 8501 took off. allen, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, it's quite a scene. relatives of the victims are staying here in a room. when the first pictures of a body floating in the water were broadcast on television. there was a monitor inside with some people going hysterical. local journals are disgusted that it happened. nonetheless, it was done. we understand at least three have been winced up to helicopters and an indonesian navy ship. a co-pilot of a hurt key lease said when they first spotted bodies they thought the people were waving help and suddenly realized that these are dead bodies and not survivors. earlier today, relatives, representing a group, about five members representing relatives were flown by indonesian military or plane over the spot where more or less the plane was thought to have gone down at that stage. so that they can pray over it. not that they could see anything, but that they could at least pray. and airasia would fly even more of them over the site. there's also

lost contact with air control over the java sea, from the indonesian city of surabaya. the pilot had asked to change the flight pattern because of bad weather. from 32,000 feet. the a-320 took off indonesia juwanda international airport lost contact with air traffic control, 32 minutes later. ron bosch, thank you so much for speaking with us. explain how in your it unusual it is for a pilot to request a deviation from course which was the situation in this case? >> it's a not uncommon event. the aircraft was at its initial cruising altitude of 32,000 feet. the fact that it's in the tropics there where there's a lot of buildup of cloud and a lot of thunderstorms in that region. so the actual requesting a deviation from track is not uncommon. and as far as i understand, the pilot had indicated to air traffic control that the request for deviation was as a result of weather on the direct track. so not an unusual occurrence. but these are modern aircraft and they are fully equipped to deal with this type of weather. >> and ron take us through the emergency procedure that wo

it was headed from the indonesian city of surabaya to singapore.e critical search now for the flight data recorder. let me bring in forensic audio expert paul ginsberg president of pro audio labs and les abend, flies a 777, and a contributing editor of "flying" magazine. this is a question we asked time and time again after mh-370 disappeared, and that is realtime streaming data. why is it we still do not have realtime streaming data so that someone on the ground can know at all times exactly what's going in the cockpit, exactly what is happening? >> well it's a matter of cost. now, we do have some aspect of streaming data in the form of adsb automatic dependent surveillance broadcast information which uses broadcast so on and so forth. the north atlantic uses it all the time. the particular area of the country you refer to in mh-370 that was available but there was only a certain point of it available that was subscribed by malaysia airlines. so it comes down to cost. iko that mary schiavo mentioned -- >> with the regulators. >> the regulation tha

an airasia indonesia flight en route from the indonesian city of surabaya to singapore is still missing. an indonesian transport officials tell cnn flight 8501 lost contact with air traffic controllers early sunday morning. the pilot asked to change route because of the weather. and soon after contact with that airplane was lost. the airline says search and rescue operations are under way. we do know 162 people were on board the airbus a-320, an airplane like you see right here. 155 passengers and 7 crew. most indonesians were on the flight, with three south koreans, one singaporean, one malaysian, and one french person on board. we've also learned of the passengers 16 were children and there was one infant. the ceo of airasia tweeted this short statement -- "thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. we must stay strong." they still don't know what happened to this airplane. we are told that rescue operations are under way, trying to find it, and this has been the live scene from the singapore airport, where that flight was expected to land many hours ago now. it was expected over fi

flight qz8501 was on its way to singapore from the indonesian city of surabaya with 162 people on board. the hem of the indonesian search team says it's likely the craft is at the bottom of the java sea. scott heidler has the latest from surabaya where the plane took off. >> another anxious day with the relatives of the rlg passengers. plane took off with 162 people on board. andres's sister-in-law was on board. >> we hope that mtion the team willthe team willfind the plane immediately. >> nothing has been found. no evidence of what happened to the plane nor where it might be. just after first light more aircraft and more ships were sent to a nearly 200 kilometer stretch of the java sea looking for any sign of the airplane. it's a bigger search area than sunday's with more countries involved, more ships more aircraft. australia has now joined malaysia and singapore in the operation headed by indonesia. >> if the target is on land it's easier than if it's an underwater location. but or evaluation of the coordinates we have received suggest it is underwater so our presumption now is that

about 40 minutes after takeoff from the indonesian city of surabaya en route to singapore.he pilot had requested a higher altitude due to weather. that request was denied apparently because there was other aircraft in the area. communication with that jetliner was lost shortly thereafter. i want to turn to our aviation correspondent richard quest to who joins us right now. you have been very busy watching this and we're so grateful to you for joining us. what's the one thing in this mystery disappearance of this airliner that stands out to you the most richard? >> until we know more details about why the plane fell off the radar, what has happened to the plane, until we know the details of what was taking place in the cockpit in that climb that may or may not have happened, the one thing i want to know at the moment is just how much technology there was involved to track this plane in realtime. yes the java sea is large but we should have a good and better indication of where that plane is so that the boats and the aircraft can find wreckage and, police god, survivors if su

went missing somewhere between the islands of kalimantan and belitung after taking off from the indonesian city of surabaya. leaders from indonesia, singapore, malaysia and australia have sent military ships and aircraft to the region. the weather was bad when the plane lost contact. storm clouds were seen in the area. >>> more than 100 passengers are trapped on a ferry that caught fire in the adriatic sea. one person has died. italian and greek rescue crews are battling rough seas and bad weather to reach the vessel. the ferry was heading from patras in western greece to the central italian city of an kona. it caught fire off greece on sunday. a greek company operating the ship carrying 478 people. about 300 of them have already been rescued. but many are still stranded on board. italian media say one person died after jumping into the sea to escape the blaze. the fire is believed to have begun around the vessel's car deck. the italian and greek navies are using helicopters to take passengers to safety. strong winds and choppy seas are hampering their efforts. but the rescue work is continuing

flight qz8501 disappeared 42 minutes after take off from the indonesian city surabaya en route to singapore. search teams are scouring the java sea, looking for the plane around the belitung island and banka and singkep. the head of the search operation says it's likely the plane is at the bottom of the sea. scott heidler is with us from surabaya, where the plane departed. just get us up to date on to the latest on the search and rescue mission. >> for the very latest in the search and rescue mission is it's a true multinational operation. you have assets in the sky and on the sea from malaysia singapore, and also australia. p3 orion, a sophisticated aircraft has been deployed and searching the 200km stretch in the java sea. we heard earlier from officials from search and rescue. we are at terminal 2 this is where the plane took off from. there's a small area inside just for family and friends on board. they briefed them in private, and came out and briefed us and said they are expanding the search and rescue operation because the weather conditions are better and they have a bit more of an

scott heidler is in the indonesian city of surabaya from where the plane departed. scott, we know indonesia accepted offers of help from the neighbours. what can you tell us about that? >> there's a lot of accepted assistance. it's a multinational effort. there's malaysia singapore, australia involved. singapore recently in the last couple of hours have come out that they'll supply underwater assistance. it comes to both technical machinery, and for personnel who are expertise in this. that has been offered and accepted by indonesian officials. the australians had provided an australian aircraft. a sophisticated aircraft and that has been searching through the area. it's a big area about 200km stretch, if you will in the java sea and they have been searching since the sun rose this morning, hours ago. we are expecting to hear from the vice president of this country, that was supposed to happen a couple of hours ago. we have been waiting for him. it doesn't mean that he'll have a big announcement. he has become the face of this crisis for the government in indonesia.

it went missing about 40 minutes in to its flight after taking off from the indonesian city heading forre. 162 people were on board. scott hider is in indonesia for us now. scott, what is the latest? >> reporter: nick, the latest is two bodies out of the seven that have been recovered from the java sea are on their way back here to indonesia a the same airport they left on sunday morning, they'll come back here, lands at this airport and be transported over to a police hospital off the airport complex and that's where the process of trying to -- any kind of fashion, initial with clothing, and then they'll do dn actual sampling most likely. that's something that's happened with the family members they have given dna samples and that's when the true identification process will take place, that's the first that we have heard that bodies, two of them on air force aircraft are on their way back in. expect in the next hour, 90 minutes they will arrive here and then be transported over to a nearby police hospital for the identification process. >> what about the search effort itself? because i

it lost contact with ground controllers less than an hour after taking off from the indonesian city ofrabaya, bound for singapore. in his last message from the cockpit the pilot asked to deviate from the flight plan due to bad weather. we have correspondents and analysts standing by around the world to bring us the very latest. cnn law enforcement analyst tom fuentes, steven wallace is here as well.

the air bus was carrying 162 passenger asks crew from the indonesian city to singapore. 42 minutes aftere off the aircraft lost communications with air traffic control. >> translator: i hope for a miracle and may god save them all. i should have been with them but canceled two weeks ago because i had something to do. i have two friends on board with five family members. >> reporter: those with relative on his board have been demanding answers. >> the weather conditions were not good, but we don't want to speculate anything more. obviously there was storm clouds and pilot had made a request to change altitude. that's as far as we know. we don't want to speculate as to whether weather was a reason or not. we really don't know. let's find the aircraft and then we'll do the proper investigation. >> reporter: indonesia's disaster management authorities quickly set up a crisis center at the airport. as offers of help from foreign countries poor in. there is little information the plane lost contact as the flew over the java seam the area was cloudy. air asia says the pie let had requested a ch

this is the scene in the indonesian city, worst hit by the tsunami, more than 106,000 people were killedn averpa province -- aceh province when a tsunami flattened towns. thousands died in sri lanka, half were tourists, celebrating the day after christmas. their bodies were never found or have not been identified. take a look at the scene earlier in india, one of the worst-hit nations. many survivors through the holy town. veronica pedrosa is joins us. first, a report from banda aceh in indonesia. >> reporter: it's been 10 years, but images of the tsunami is clear op people's minds. the destructive power symbolized. in the sand a museum and the scene. the world responded generously. more than $7 billion was donated. $1,709 schools were rebuilt. 250km of road. 30,000 - many weren't aware of the dangers. warning systems are in place. evacuation centers have been built to make sure a disaster of this magnitude will not happen again. >> while words heeled, they remember forever. the seas here in southern sri lanka the scene of a catastrophe. a service to remember the 1,500 kill when the tida

taken back to the indonesian city of surabaya where the ill fated flight took off from. scott heidler tell us more about the search for the bodies and what's happening to them when they come back. >> exactly, we saw these two bodies come back. within the last hour they were brought in an air force craft. the bodies were brought back in coffins. the governor of surabaya was that airasia officials were there. they are being transferred to a police hospital very close to the airport. that is where the identification process is going to go often. that is where the family members quite honestly near there will be moved to. it is going to be slid over moved over to that hospital in the coming hours. we know that some of the fannie mae members have already moved over there. airasia officials have already moved over there. that's what's going to be happening. we are also hearing that those other five bodies that they have retrieved are supposed, they are going to try i should say to bring them back to surabaya, they hope tonight if not tonight, weather permitting, tomorrow. the

the plane had 162 people on board and was flying from the indonesian city of surabaya to

reuters news service is reporting an air asia flight from the indonesian city of suribaya lost contact. the plane was en route to singapore. an indonesian transport official tells reuters the pilot asked for an unusual route before losing contact. he says 155 people were on board the airbus 320. we are monitoring the story for you very closely and we will bring you updates as they become available. we'll have much more on this breaking news story. so stay with cnn. we return you now to "the hunt." ♪ (holiday mhey! is playing) i guess we're going to need a new santa ♪(the music builds to a climax.) more people are coming to audi than ever before. see why now is the best time. audi will cover your first month's payment on select models at the season of audi sales event. visit audioffers.com today. ♪ ♪ which means it's timeson for the volkswagen sign-then-drive event. for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a german-engineered volkswagen. like the sporty, advanced new jetta... and the 2015 motor trend car of the year all-new golf. if you're wishing fo

this was the scene in the indonesian city which was the worst hit by the tsunami.r 160,000 people in the surrounding province were killed when it was hit by waves up to 35 meters high. and memorials are also being held in thailand. about half of the victims there were tourists who were celebrating the day after christmas. and commemorations have also been held in india. many survivors marched through the town in tribute to the victims. we have correspondent across the affected region, including minnel in sri lanka, and veronica who is in thailand. but first here is steph's report from indonesia. >> reporter: it has been ten years but images are still very clear on people's minds, the destructive power of the wave, symbolized by this ship carried inland by nearly 5 kilometers and it is now a museum. the world responded generously, more than $7 billion were donated. schools were rebuilt, roads, and 30,000 new houses were built. now people have been trained, warning systems are in place, and evacuation shelters have been built to make sure a disaster of this magnitude

the first two bodies returned to the indonesian city of sarobaya from where the plane left sunday morning. four more bodies were recovered along with three yesterday. that's four males and three females, including a woman flight attendant still wearing her uniform and a four-year-old boy. still, search efforts were hampered by bad weather rain and high wind curtailing all diving. the search also hampered by misinformation. the fact the plane was detected by sonar proved false. still, ships still there. sailors have spotted and recovered aircraft debris. >> the ships are looking to operate 24 hours, which is very encouraging and they're moving all the assets to the two spots which they think the aircraft could be. >> as families of those on the flight waited for word praying and singing hymns. while i understandndonesia is a mostly muslim country, there are christians there. some 40 members of one church were on the flight. >> >> translator: we believe that her life and death are in god's hands. we must always prepare for everything because we never know when one will die. >> authorities a

this airasia flight, number 8501 took off from the indonesian city of surabaya, bound for singapore sunday morning local time. most of the 162 on board were indonesian. there was a frenchman and british man on board. shortly after takeoff about 40 minutes later ground control lost radar contact lost radio contact. there was request for course correction. that was denied due to air traffic in the vicinity. authorities think they believe the plane might have crashed into the java sea. that the plane might be at the bottom of that sea. no fewer than 30 ships, 15 aircraft from four different countries are involved in the search. they're checking out reports of objects seen on the surface of the water. it is believed they're not related to crash but they're checking out that oil slick. united states, by the way one other country offering assistance arthel. >> checking out a lot of things. are officials commenting on what may have caused this? >> reporter: it is still way too early. obviously if they get their hand on the black box if circumstances lead to that that telemetry will spell out what

the first two bodies will return to surabaya which is the indonesian city where the doomed flight originated. the victims were brought back in simple wood boxes bearing numbers 001 and 002. our andrew stevens is at that airport in surabaya. andrew, the two victims were given that solemn welcome. it will, of course be the first of many. at the same time we have this information from investigators that there could be this possible sonar location of the wreckage although the ceo of the airlines saying it's not exactly confirmed. what can you tell us about where this wreckage is? >> this is very, very frustrating. they can not confirm whether this is the actual primary wreckage, the main fuselage where the investigators, serge groups think most of the passengers remain. it's a very stark image. they say when they find fuselage they'll find most of the passengers buckled in. what they can't say with any degree of certain city whether they've pinpointed the area in the crash zone. it's around the same area where the indonesian air force first saw what they described as a shadow which looked like a

flight qz8501 was on its way to singapore from the indonesian city of surabaya with 162 people on board. search teams are scouring the area looking for signs of the plane around the islands of singkep, banka and belitung island. the head of the indonesian search operation says it's likely the plane is at the bottom of the sea. we have reporters in singapore and indonesia following the story, we'll hear from veronica pedrosa who is at singapore's changi airport, but first to scott heidler, who is in surabaya, from where the plane took off on sunday. as i understand it vice president is where you are earlier today. what did he have to say? yes, he was here. first he went into a waiting room, if you will that has been turned into the crisis center for the family members, a private room off to my right. he visited with family members, he came out and addressed the media, tackled questions, reports that had been out about sightings of - potential sightings of objects in the water, in the search areas. he said that he looked - he touched on other examples of how long the process will take for

the airbus a320 was carrying 162 passengers and crew from the indonesian city of surabaya to singapore. 42 minutes after takeoff the aircraft lost communications with air traffic control. >> i hope for a miracle, may god save them all. i should have been with them i cancelled two weeks ago as i had something to do. i have two friend on board with five family members. >> those with relatives on board have been demanding answers. >> the weather conditions were not good. we don't want to speculate. it may have been more. there was storm clouds and the pilot made a request to change the altitude. that is as far as we know. we don't want to speculate on the weather if it was a contributor. we don't know. let's find the aircraft and do the proper investigation. >> indonesia's disaster management area set up. offers of help from foreign countries poured in. there's little information. the plane lost contact. the area was cloudy. airasia said the pilot requested to change course because of bad weather. this is where they were supposed to arrive. air transport authorities at changi airport say

the airbus a320 was carrying 162 passengers and crew from the indonesian city of surabaya to singapore. 42 minutes after takeoff it lost communications with air traffic control. >> translation: i hope for a miracle and may god save them all. i should have been with them i cancelled two weeks ago as i had something do. i have two friends on board and family members. >> those with relatives on board demanded answers. >> weather conditions were not good. other than that we don't want to speculate. there was storm clouds and the pilot had made a request to change altitude. that's as far as we know. we don't want to speculate as to the weather. we don't know. let's find the aircraft and we will do a proper investigation. >> indonesia's disaster management set up a crisis center at the juanda airport. offers for help came in. not much is known. the area was cloudy over the java sea. they requested a change of course but were denied. officials at changi airport say 47 next of kin approached them. they were provided with counsellors from government departments and the indonesian embassy. singa

an airasia indonesia flight en route from the indonesian city of surabaya to singapore is still missingan indonesian transport officials tell cnn flight

the airbus a-320 took off from the indonesian city of surabaya on sunday morning. it was bound for singapore, a flight that usually takes a little over two hours. 6:12 about 45 minutes into the flight indonesian officials said one of the pilots asked air traffic control permission to turn and climb to a higher altitude to try to avoid bad weather. air traffic control approved the pilot's request to turn left but denied permission for the plane to climb to 38,000 feet from 32,000 feet. 6:18 six minutes later, the plane disappeared from radar. another six minutes later, 6:24 a.m. air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft. there was no distress call. 155 passengers most from indonesia, and seven crew members were on board. >> our concern right now is for the relatives and for the next of kin. there's nothing more important to us for our crew's family and for the passengers' family, that we look after them. that is our number one priority at the moment. >> reporter: two teenaged girls looking for their parents are among those gathered at the international a

let's head now to the indonesian city of surabaya. that's where the flight originated. family members are behind closed doors. almost all 155 people are citizens of indonesia. three are from south korea. one each from malaysia singapore, united kingdom and france. like many indonesians the pilot uses one name. according to news agencies he is described as a devout muslim and motorcycle enthusiasts. he came to airasia six years ago after the previous airline shut down because of poor safety records. the big question remain this is morning, why did this plane go down? there's intriguing new theory out this morning from jeffrey thomas, editor and chief of airline ratings.com. he says it appears the plane was risings in altitude but losing speed. it was rising so slowly it could not maintain flight. this supposedly came from an air traffic controller tracking the airline. let's talk about this. joining me former airline pilot and air crash accident investigator. welcome to both of you. >> good morning. >> hello. >> good morning. i want to start with you. you have flown this

. >> reporter: sunday morning, 5:36 local time the airbus a-320 takes off from the indonesian city of surabaya bound for singapore, about a two-hour flight. 36 minutes later, trying to avoid a violent thunderstorm the pilot asks air traffic control permission to turn and climb to a higher altitude. the request, denied. >> this airplane was not allowed to climb to 38,000 feet initially after the request because there were so many other airplanes in the area. so other airplanes are flying through it. what made this airplane crash? was the weather so bad at that spot? >> reporter: or was it how the pilot reacted or something else? those questions remain. about 42 minutes into the flight airasia 8501 vanishes from radar, all contact lost without even a mayday call. an hour and a half after contact is lost the plane is declared missing. >> i think the time line in this case a, is much better than it was for malaysia 370, and i think it's most likely reasonable by the time you get people notified -- i think that time line is probably fair. >> reporter: the focus also on the man flying the c

it was flying from the indonesian city of surabaya to singapore. distraught family members have gathered now at that airport in surabaya where the flight originated. that's where we find david molko. david, thanks so much for joining me. i can't imagine. i know you're experiencing it alongside them. the grief at that airport, the families learning of that news today. talk to us about the latest and the recovery effort. what do we know? >> hi michaela. it's just 11:00 in the evening here in surabaya and indonesia tonight, surabaya a city in morning, indonesia a nation in mourning confirming that the plane has gone down and that search-and-recovery operation is under way. what's also different tonight from the past two nights is that operation is continuing around the clock. you haveships in the search zone. we imagine that there are planes that are potentially on the way. the search not suspended by any means, the president joko widodo was here in surabaya at the crisis center speaking to families a few hours ago and he said this is an all out effor

it lost contact with ground controllers less than an hour after taking off from the indonesian city of surabaya bound for singapore. in his last message from the cockpit the pilot asked to deviate from the flight plan due to bad weather. we have correspondents and analysts standing by around the world to bring us the very latest. cnn law enforcement analyst tom fuentes, steven wallace is here as well. also with us peter golds former managing director for the ntsb and rene marsh. but i want to begin in beijing with cnn will riply who has been following the ins and occupants of what we know so far. will. >> reporter: what we know is that the families right now in indonesia, dana are going through a similar agony that the families right here in beijing went through in the initial hours after mh-370 disappeared where they are waiting at the airport for any information, information that for flight 370 families really still hasn't come they still don't have closure. the situation right now in indonesia, far different. we know air and sea search has suspended for the night because it is now d

. >> air asia 8501 was flying from indonesian city of surabaya to singapore when it disappeared from radar. air asia is also based in malaysia. the final communication from the pilot and air traffic control came at 6:12 a.m. when the pilot asked to turn left and climb to 38,000 feet to, quote, avoid clouds. >> there were more than 160 people on board, including 17 children, one an infant. as their families desperately await word, there's a massive search and rescue effort under way right now. and abc's david kerley kicks off our team coverage from washington. david, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, dan. this jetliner has been missing for more than half a day and darkness is coming to the area where crews are looking for any sign of this aircraft. this is the air asia airbus 320 that has disappeared from radar and is missing this morning. search crews spent the day looking for any sign of the aircraft which was flying through strong weather early saturday morning. air asia, a low cost carrier serving the area, said in a statement, quote, at the present time we unfortuna

let's head to the indonesian city of surabaya where the flight originated and distraught family members have been huddling. cnn's senior producer david malko is there with more. hi david. >> reporter: it's just past 8:00 in the evening, 9:00 sorry here in surabaya, indonesia, a few hundred miles away from where most of the activity is taking place now offshore off the island of borneo in the java sea. we're seeing an all-out search effort. things are ramped up. the president of indonesia, joe co joko juidodo, all assets ships and planes and rescue teams on land make their way to the search area. what we know is it's off the island of borneo. the waters are relatively shallow in the 100-foot range and that may help search teams in recovering. the mission is to find and recover any mum remains out there, a rather grim task at this moment and of course parts of the airplane. interesting from president jokoie and tony fernandez. no one is using the word bodies or recovery still saying rescue. if you talk to family members on the ground it's clear that hope has faded. carol? >> where are the

flight 8501 was in the middle of what was supposed to be a short two-hour flight from the indonesian city of surabaya to singapore when it disappeared from radar. more than 160 people were on board, including children. abc's david kerley is tracking all of this. good morning to you. >> reporter: it will be an agonizing night for families. it is now dark over the java sea where a handful of aircraft looked for this missing jetliner. this is the actual mane missing at this hour. people spent the afternoon looking for any sign of the jetliner which was carrying 161 people, mostly indonesians. flight 8501 took off early saturday morning heading for singapore. 42 minutes into the flight the jet runs into severe weather, thunderstorms and turbulence. the pilot asked to turn and to increase altitude significantly from 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet. the jet then jet disappears off radar. call centers are set up for those wondering about the passengers which include 16 children and one infant with a crew of six. the a 32 was just 8 years old. air asia is a low cost startup airline and has a good safe

. >> ifill: in the wake of the tragedy, many indonesian cities chose to cancel or tone down their news eve celebrations. so far, seven bodies have been recovered. some were still fully clothed, suggesting the jetliner was intact when it hit the water. that, in turn, could indicate the plane stalled in mid-air and then plunged into the sea. a wedding party in afghanistan ended in a bloodbath today, with 26 dead. a rocket struck the gathering in helmand province, during a firefight between government forces and taliban insurgents. and in yemen, a suicide bombing killed at least 23 people and wounded 48, at a cultural center where shiites were gathered to celebrate the prophet muhammad's birthday. the palestinian authority moved today to pursue war crimes charges against israel. president mahmoud abbas agreed to join the international criminal court, setting the stage for both war crimes cases and challenges to jewish settlements. abbas acted a day after the u.n. security council refused to demand an end to israeli control in the west bank and east jerusalem. >> ( translated ): we got re

several bodies have been recovered and at least two have arrived back in the indonesian city of surabaya, where the airasia flight departed from on sunday. in central yemen, a suicide bomber has killed at least 33 people at a gathering of shiite houthi rebels. the governor of ibb province which is controlled by the houthis, was reportedly among those injured in the attack. the president of the west african nation of gambia has returned home after his an apparent coup plot while he was out of the country. president yahya jammeh says he remains in control of gambia after a fierce gun battle which reportedly threw the capital banjul into chaos and killed a former army commander who allegedly led the plot. president jammeh who rose to power in a military coup in 1994 has faced two previous coup plots. he has faced international criticism for his homophobic views and repression of political opponents. the failed coup has sparked fears of a crackdown. russia has seen one of its largest anti-government demonstrations in years after a leading opponent of president vladimir putin was dealt a -- c

flight 8501 was en route from the indonesian city of surabaya.re it is at the bottom of your screen. to singapore. just a two-hour flight. when it lost contact with air traffic control early sunday morning. most of the plane's flight path took it over open water. there were we're told heavy thunderstorms in the area and the pilot asked to change the route because of the weather. apparently trying to vector around some serious storms. soon after that request was made contact with the airplane was lost. this is a picture here of the missing plane. it again is an airbus a-320 with airasia airlines a no-frills airline has got an excellent safety record. 162 people were listed on the flight manifest. 155 passengers and seven crew. here's the breakdown that we know about. most are indonesians on this flight. with three south koreans, one singaporean, one from malaysia and one french person on board. we've also learned that among the passengers were 17 children including one baby. the ceo of airasia, tony fernandes, right now is on his way to surabaya w

the plane had 162 people on board and was flying from the indonesian city of surabaya to singapore. unlike flight 370, it went missing over the java sea in a heavily traveled shipping channel with shallow waters. 1,126 searchers are deployed from australia, singapore, malaysia south korea, japan, and new zealand. along with indonesia's navy army air force, and police force. and the "uss sampson" is also on its way to the java sea, where it's already tuesday morning. we have an expert team standing by to answer all of your questions. make sure you use the hashtag 8501 qz. but i want to get to cnn's reporters in the search zone. andrew stevens is in surabaya indonesia. will ripley joins us from beijing. and cnn aviation correspondent richard quest here with me this evening in the studio. hello to all of you gentlemen. i'm going to start with you, andrew. reports of smoke we have seen, that has been seen on an island in the asia air flight 8501 search area. what do you know about the smoke? >> don, that's the key. within the search zone. remember this search zone continues to widen rat

. >> reporter:the airbus a320 was flying from the indonesian city of surabaya to singapore when it lostcontact with air traffic controllers. >> reporter:one of the pilots had asked to change course and fly at a higher altitude as storms bore down over the java sea. >> reporter:the plane was reportedly denied permission to climb to 38-thousand feet due to air traffic. >> reporter:there are doubts that weather alone could have brought down the plane. >>"the wing is not going to fall off because it's going through a thunderstorm. what happens is a scenario is created that makes it much more challenging for the pilots to fly." >> reporter:the c-e-o of air asia says it is too early to know just what went wrong. >>"we don't really want to speculate until we find the aircraft, we know what went wrong and then we'll look into it and see you know what we need to improve, if we need to improve." .. >> reporter:the italian coast guard says it's finished rescue operations on the burning ferry adrift in the adriatic sea. >> reporter:more than 400 people were evacuated. the italian navy says the capt

afternoon here in the bay area air asia flight 850 -- 01 left indonesian city of surabaya on its waysingapore around 530 in the morning local time and banished along the way as it flew over the job us see which is a heavily traveled shipping route. it's an airbus a320 and had 162 passenger and crew on board. according to officials, before the plane disappeared the pilot requested a change in the light path due to weather and wanted to fly at a higher altitude. during the search, families are gathering at the airport in indonesia fearing the fate of their loved ones. >>> my fianci and his family were on that plane. in the morning, we lost contact. i did not think of anything. i did not any have any feelings at all. when i was on my way to the airport, i listened to to the local radio and said that they said that the plane was missing. it was supposed to be their last vacation before we got married. his last vacation with his family. >>> in the statement, officials said that the two pilots are very experienced with the command cap did like more than 6000 flying hours in the plane under

airasia flight 8501 left the indonesian city of surabaya headed to singapore.er the java sea. it sounds eerily similar to flight 370 which disappeared last march on the way to beijing. >> it's possible they'll look for paerchs and look at all causes and contributing factor tos. >> investigators are now search for any sign of flight 8501. unlike the vast indian ocean where cruise spent months combing the surface and depths the java sea is a busy shipping area and fairly shallow. >> the fact that the water on average is shallower means it will not be as difficult to recover parts of it and recover and analyze it. >> the airasia plane disappeared from radar suddenly a clue that severe weather may have been a factor. strong thunderstorms were reported in the area shortly before contact was lost and the pilot's last mission requesting to go from 32,000 to 38,000 feet was presumably to fly over the storm. flight 370 was tracked by another hour before disappears. the aircraft made a sharp left turn recrossed peninsula and flew into the indian ocean. the skies were cle