i'm john vause. ? and i'm robyn curnow.rews headed to an island in the java sea where smoke was spotted a few hours ago. it's the late east in the search for airasia flight 8501 which disappeared on sunday. they have not found a trace of the plane. relatives of the passengers will be flown over the search area on wednesday. >> the death toll stands at 10 in the adriatic sea ferry disaster. it all began when a fire broke out sunday in the ferry's car deck. rescuers battled some very tough weather conditions for more than a day, pulling 427 survivors from the ferry called norman atlantic. >>> and london's royal free hospital is preparing to treat the first patient diagnosed with ebola in the u.k. the nurse worked for save the children treatment center in africa. >>> the search for airasia flight 8501 currently involves seven countries with indonesia taking the lead. there have been reports of oil slicks and a ping, and this has all turned out to be false leads. we have the managing editor of a publication. do you think maybe

i'm john vause at the cnn center. >> i'm natalie allen. thank you for joining us. we've been here several hours with this breaking news out of australia. and we will continue to bring you the latest now. >> and we'd like to welcome our viewers in the united states and all around the world. we'd like to give you the update now. a gunman is still holding an unknown number of people at a lindt coffee shop in sydney's main business district. sky news australia reports that the hostage taker, seen here, is calling himself the brother. he has forced hostages to speak with three media outlets over the phone. he apparently has two demands. he wants an isis flag. he also wants a conversation with australia's prime minister. >> we also have video of five hostages who managed to get out. we still don't know how they did it. but they got out. that was the first one we saw in the blue jacket. then the man in the white shirt. and then there was one more that burst out of another door, a door that police aren't standing behind. that was about four hours ago. when that happened. a

. >> and i'm john vause. and for a second day a broad area in the java sea is the site for a search for the missing flight 8501. it's a total of almost 155,000 square miles. >> indonesia has put out seven vessels to search for the plane. australia and singapore and malaysia sending ships. the flight went missing sunday with 162 people on board. it was just a two-hour nightflight. despite the ongoing efforts, a top official had a grim message about what may be the airliner's fate. here it is. >> translator: if the target is on land it is easier than if it's an underwater location. because our evaluation of the koord nalts suggest it is under water, our presumption now is that the aircraft is under the sea. >> let's go to cnn's paula hancocks. she has arrived in indonesia where many search efforts are under way. what can you tell us about the it search there and whether they are searching in the water and on any possible land. there are some people that believe that this plane could have landed somehow or gone

>> and i'm john vause. >> and indonesia's top rescue official has a bleak description. he says the plane is most likely in his words at the bottom of the sea. meantime ships and planes from singapore, malaysia and indonesia are searching for any sign of the flight. >> it was traveling to singapore when it went missing with 162 people on board. now the families of the passengers and the crew can only wait hoping for any hint that their parents, their kids spouses, siblings friends, somehow they are still alive. the locker this goes on though the less the chances are that someone will be found alive. >> absolutely. not one sighting of anything of that airplane. 140 of the passengers are from indonesia. airasia has vowed to keep the families informed and help them through this situation, which we've seen these pictures before. we've seen this video before. we're back here again. >> so hauntingly similar to everything we saw, what ten months ago. >> exactly. except for different circumstances, of course nin that cockpit. we have more on the rescue efforts. >> reporter: we'r

i'm john vause.as the scene a short time ago as the prime minister paid his respects at the site of the deadly hostage standoff. well-wishers and mourners have been leaving flowers. the prime minister is set to have a news conference. we will bring that to you as soon as it happens. >>> police in pennsylvania are hunting a man accused of killing his wife and family members. the former marine reservist had been in a custody battle with his ex-wife. >>> hong kong's chief executive is urging people to reflect on the meaning of real democracy as police clear the last main protest site. monday was the deadline for protesters to remove their tents that had been in place for 79 days. they complied but say the fight for democracy is not over yet. experts say the lone wolf attack that occurred in sidney is the most likely type of terrorism to happen on u.s. soil. jim sciutto reports these assaults are difficult to prevent because the terrorist may already be in the target country. >> reporter: the brazen host

>> and i'm john vause. >> and indonesia's top rescue official has a bleak description. most likely in his words at the bottom of the sea. meantime ships and planes from singapore, malaysia and indonesia are searching

i'm john vause. we'll check the headlines this hour. >>> australian prime minister tony abbott held a press conferences a few minutes ago. two hostages were killed along with the gunman. >>> in pennsylvania, a man hunt for a man suspected of killing his ex-wife and other family members. the man is armed and dangerous. he has been in a custody battle with his ex-wife. >>> u.s. secretary of state john kerry wants vatican help to relocate gitmo detainees as the obama administration looks to close the facility and transfer detainees to other countries. >>> some say the tragic events in sydney shows that australians are just as vulnerable as americans, canadians and europeans to homegrown terror attacks. tony abbott addressed that during his news conference. >> there are people, even in a society such as ours who wish to do us harm. we are not immune to the politically motivated violence which has for so long stalked other countries. but over the last 36 hours, we have responded to this in character, with

i'm john vause. >> and i'm natalie allen.e than half the passengers on board that burning ferry have now been pulled to safety but there are a lot left. some of the passengers that have been rescued are now finally arriving on the italian coast just this hour. they've been at sea since they were rescued nearly two hours ago. they were endureing freezing temperatures while sitting on a ship that's bushrning. the fire is believed to have started in the ship's garage area early sunday morning as the ship traveled from greece to italy. the only good news here is that only one person has died in this disaster and there is apparently no danger of the ship sinking. >>> meantime our other big story, ships and planes from four countries are combing the ocean looking for any sign of flight 8501. the airline disappeared on sunday. a senior official believes that the plane is most likely in his words, at the bottom of the sea. >> the passengers' family members waiting for word on the fate of the flight. the words from the ceo, certainly

. >>> i'm john vause at the cnn center in atlanta. >> and i'm natalie allen. we have been with you for several hours, and we will push on as this situation in australia continues. it is breaking news of a siege there in a coffee shop that has been ongoing. a gunman holding people hostage at the lindt coffee shop in downtown sydney. sky news has just informed us that the gunman is calling himself "the brother", and has contacted a radio station and two tv stations via hostages with demands, a conversation with the prime minister and an isil flag. >> we do know five people have managed to get out. three men were seen running out two hours ago. two of them were customers. the man in the blue jacket, the man in the white zirs and a few moments later there was a man wearing an apron who appeared to be a worker. >> coming out of a different door. >> and it appears he was a worker at the lindt coffee shop. he's wearing that apron. >> and we've been questioning our experts. >> was this an escape or were they released. and according to our sky news reporter, the police

join john vause for the next hour for the very latest. bye-bye. i have great credit. do you know? duh. try credit karma. it's free and you can see what your score is right now . i just got my free credit score! credit karma. really free. >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> hello, everybody. we would like to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. ahead this hour breaking news in the hunt for airasia flight 8501. indonesian officials are looking at photos of debris that could be from the missing airliner. in other news, a prominent critic of vladamir putin has learned his fate after a corruption trial. and the uk dealing with its first ebola patient during the current outbreak. a health care worker just back from west a

. >> and i'm john vause. "early start" is next. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> breaking right now. hostage standoff. a gunman takes over a coffee shop in sydney, australia near the u.s. consulate. a flag of arabic writing in the window. we have a live report. good morning. i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it is monday, december 15th. 4:00 a.m. in the east. we welcome all of our viewers from around the world. top story, hostage terror in sydney. extending now into its tenth hour. an armed man holding an unknown number of hostages in a lindt chocolate shop. this shop is in the same complex as the united states consulate in sydney. a spokesman says consulate personnel have been evacuated. all are accounted for. president obama has been briefed on the situation. it is unknown if any hostage is american. those who were allowed to leave running frantically for their lives once they made it out. cnn's anna coren joins us live from the scene. anna, you have been watching this. ten hours now. it

i'm john vause. >> and i'm natalie allen.es, we've been at it for several hours now for the situation in sidney, australia, where a gunman has been holding people captive now since, well, the morning hours there in australia. >> for about eight hours, he's holding an unknown number of hostages at the coffee shop in the heart of sidney's business district. police have made contact with the hostage taker but are not saying anything about his mot e motive. >> police are not revealing the number of hostages. a flag with an islamic message was held up to the cafe win die. hostages have also been forced to stand against the window. can you see their hands pressed against the glass. heavily armed police have taken positions around the cafe. cordoned off around this cafe. and there's also video within the last hour, three hostages who managed to get out. you're about to see them. there's the first one running around the corner. then you're about to see the third. >> which comes out of another exit, which is a fire exit, which is the

thank you for watching, our coverage now continues with john vause at the cnn center in atlanta. >> thankthe world. ahead this hour, a day of mourning across australia. family and friends are remembering the people killed in a downtown coffee shop. meantime, cnn is learning more about the islamic extremist who carried out the attack. >>> plus a killer is on the loose in pennsylvania. >>> and then later, bill kwcosbs wife is asking, who is

well it's actually john vause and robyn curnow. >> we'd like to welcome our viewers in the united states still covering that search for the missing airasia plane. and in the last few hours that search area has expanded again and crews are checking reports of smoke on an island in the search zone. plus we'll take you liv

. >>> i'm john vause at the cnn center in atlanta. >> and i'm natalie allen. we have been with you for several hours, and we will push on as this situation in australia continues. it is breaking news of a siege there in a coffee shop that has been ongoing. a gunman holding people hostage at the lindt coffee shop in downtown sydney. sky news has just informed us that the gunman is calling himself "the brother", and has contacted a radio station and two tv stations