The second day of search for AirAsia’s missing Flight QZ 8501 passed without any new findings, Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said late December 29.

Basarna spokesperson Sutono said the search may last one week or more depending on circumstances.

Regarding reports that an Australian plane found debris which could be of flight QZ 8501 near Nangka Island and the spotting of an oil slick off the eastern coast of Belitung Island, he said there is no reliable evidence to confirm the information.

Indonesia has so far deployed 30 ships and 15 aircraft to look for the missing jet, with Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia also sending planes and ships to join the search. An aircraft sent by the Republic of Korea is due to arrive at the scene on December 30, while France and India have offered assistance for the searching mission.

Flight QZ 8501 lost contact with air traffic control on the morning of December 28, only 42 minutes after it took off from Surabaya airport in Indonesia for Singapore. It carried 162 passengers and crewmembers, including 156 Indonesians, three Koreans, one Singaporean, one Malaysian and one French.

Earlier, an Indonesian official told the media that the missing jet is likely to be at the bottom of the sea.-VNA