... Search and rescue operations are under way for the missing aircraft.

The flight had been due to arrive in Singapore at 08:30 (00:30GMT).

There were six foreigners on board the flight, reports say, three from South Korea and one each from the UK Malaysia and Singapore. The rest of the passengers were Indonesian.

An official with the transport ministry, Hadi Mustofa, told local media the plane lost contact over the Java Sea, between the islands of Kalimantan and Java.

He said the plane had asked for an unusual route before it lost contact and that the weather had been cloudy.

AirAsia have given few other details.