JAKARTA: AirAsia flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore is believed to have crashed at the location 03.22.46 South and 108.50.07 East, in waters around 80-100 nautical miles from Belitung, a National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) official has said.
Basarnas Pangkalpinang spokesman Supriandi was quoted in jakartapost.com as saying that it had dispatched a rescue team to Belitung.
It is believed that the Airbus A320-200 had circled over the sea near Belitung to avoid a storm before it experienced severe turbulence and crashed into the ocean. QZ8502 is reported to have had 155 passengers on board, 16 of which were children.
However, according to news portal bangkapos.com, there was no confirmation on the location of the crash.