Singapore's RSAF is dispatching a C130 plane to search for an AirAsia flight that has gone missing en route to Singapore early Sunday. The Airbus A320-200 reportedly had 162 people on board.

According to TIME, flight QZ 8501 departed Surabaya, Indonesia, for Singapore when it lost contact from air traffic control. AirAsia flight QZ8501 was scheduled to land at Singapore's Changi Airport at 8.30 a.m. local time but lost contact in Indonesian airspace at around 7.10 a.m., reports the Straits Times.

"AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24 hrs this morning,'' said an airline statement.

"At the present time, we unfortunately have no further information regarding the status of the passengers and crew members on board.

"Search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service,'' said the airline.

QZ 8501 has 155 passengers and crew on board, including one Singaporean, one British, one Malaysian, three Koreans and 149 Indonesians, according to Indonesia's Transport Ministry.

Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa told Metro TV that the plane lost contact somewhere between Kalimantan and Belitung island.

It's possible the pilot of AirAsia flight QZ8501 may have faced extreme weather conditions, Tatang Zainudin of Indonesia's national search and rescue agency told MetroTV.