Jet likely ‘at the bottom of the sea,’ official says

The missing AirAsia flight is probably “at the bottom of the sea,” the head of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said at a news conference Monday. 

A search effort has been underway, interrupted only for darkness, since AirAsia Flight QZ8501, carrying 162 people from Indonesia to Singapore, lost contact with air traffic control on Sunday morning. 

{mosads}But authorities are not hopeful.

“Based on the coordinates given to us and evaluation that the estimated crash position is in the sea, the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea,” Bambang Soelistyo, the head of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, said, according to the BBC.

Soelistyo said that the search area is being expanded, and crews are focusing on oil slicks found Monday. It is uncertain whether the oil slicks are related to the plane.

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said 30 ships and 15 aircraft were involved in the search, and that “even fishermen” were being asked to join in, according to reports. 

The cause of the plane’s disappearance is not yet known. There has been speculation that the weather could be a factor, given that there were thunderstorms in the area, and the plane’s pilots reportedly requested a change in altitude to avoid bad weather shortly before losing contact with air traffic controllers. 

President Obama was briefed on the incident in Hawaii, and White House officials said they were monitoring the situation.