CNN) -- An AirAsia passenger jet carrying 162 people lost contact with Indonesian air traffic control early Sunday, gripping Southeast Asia with a second missing plane crisis in less than a year.
The search operation for the missing AirAsia Flight QZ 8501 has been halted for the night, but big ships won't return to shore and will leave their searchlights on, according to the Indonesian Transportation Ministry.
Before communication was lost, a pilot on AirAsia Flight QZ 8501 asked to deviate from its planned route -- from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore -- because of bad weather, officials said.
The aircraft went missing as it flew over the Java Sea between the islands of Belitung and Borneo, according to Indonesian authorities, who are leading the search and rescue operations.
Of the people on board the Airbus A320-200, 155 are Indonesian, three are South Korean, one is British, one is French, one is Malaysian and one is Singaporean, the airline said.
UPDATE: 12.28.2014 : DEATH OF PASSENGERS AND DEBRIS CONFIRMS PLANE CRASHED! Floating bodies and debris of missing Asia plane indicates its crash into the ocean. Confirmation of two bodies on Tuesday, 12.28.2014 assures that flight QZ8501 AirAsia crashed into the sea. Hospitals and emergency teams and flight helicopters are preparing to transport more bodies floating into Borneo off the coast of the Java Sea. Hundreds of relatives are sadden by the tragic accident moan, weep and pray.
I got all choked up over this and my heartfelt prayers go to the victims families. I ask that those responsible for this great evil, God deal with them...that is my prayer!
