Objects Spotted In Sea In Missing Plane Search

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An Australian plane has spotted debris in the sea during the hunt for the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501, authorities have said.

Jakarta's Air Force base commander Rear Marshal Dwi Putranto said an Australian Orion aircraft had detected "suspicious" objects near Nangka island, between Sumatra and Borneo and close to Belitung island.

The AP news agency said the spot is about 700 miles (1,120km) from the location where the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers over the Java Sea in the early hours of Sunday morning.

But it is well within the area currently being searched.

Indonesia's vice president Jusuf Kalla said there was not enough evidence to confirm the report.

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Gallery: The Search For Missing AirAsia Plane

Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) personnel survey the waters, on board a C-130 Hercules, during a Search and Locate operation for the missing AirAsia QZ8501 aircraft

The jet carrying 162 people could be at the bottom of the sea after it was presumed to have crashed off the Indonesian coast, an official said

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Countries around Asia sent ships and planes to help in the search effort. According to the RSAF, two C-130 aircraft were deployed on Monday to join in the search

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Navy soldiers prepare food on the KRI Sultan Hasanuddin-366 warship before joining search operations at Batuampar port in Batam

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Indonesia's vice-president Jusuf Kalla (L) monitors progress during a visit to the National Search and Rescue Agency in Jakarta

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He told a news conference: "It has been checked and no sufficient evidence was found to confirm what was reported."

Searchers have also been looking at an oil slick off the east coast of Belitung island.

Officials said ships will hunt round the clock but aircraft would suspend operations at dusk, which was due at about 6pm (11am UK time).

The flight had been on its way from Surabaya on the Indonesian island of Java to Singapore when it disappeared from radar screens.

The pilot had asked for permission to fly higher to avoid bad weather but was refused because other aircraft were in the area, officials told Reuters.

One Briton was among the 162 on board, with the rest from Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and France.

Earlier, the chief of Indonesia's search effort Bambang Soelistyo said that the missing AirAsia passenger plane "is likely at the bottom of the sea".

More than a dozen ships have been sent to the area to try to find the aircraft.

Australia, Singapore and Malaysia have deployed planes to assist in the Indonesian-led search.

The UK, France and the US have offered technology to assist in the hunt.

Search teams are currently scouring a 70-mile square area where the much of the sea is 40-50 metres (130-160 feet) deep.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott pledged his country would do "whatever it humanly can to assist", but said what had happened was very different to the mystery surrounding the disappearance earlier this year of Malaysian Airlines plane MH370.

Several storm clouds were along the route of the flight, and Sunday's search for the Airbus A320 was hampered by heavy rain.

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Muke Nyerate