Darren Whiteside/Reuters
The AirAsia plane that went missing during a flight from Indonesia’s Surabaya city to Singapore on Sunday is likely at the bottom of the sea, officials said Monday. The head of Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency said based on estimates, "the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea," adding that belif may change as the search continues. Indonesia has deployed 10 ships, two helicopters and diver teams to the location of lost contact, with two ships very close, officials said. The budget carrier’s Flight QZ8501 was carrying 155 passengers, including 16 children, and seven crew members. The plane lost contact with air traffic control over the Java Sea shortly after the pilot requested a change of flight plan because of bad weather. Authorities in Malaysia and Singapore temporarily suspended search and rescue operations due to darkness and bad weather Sunday night local time, but rescue attempts resumed Monday morning, according to Indonesian authorities. Teams had begun searching the sea and mountainous areas in the region hours after the plane vanished Sunday morning local time. Worried relatives gathered in both Surabaya and Singapore, anxious for any news of loved ones or the whereabouts of the aircraft. The scenes evoked memories of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which vanished without a trace while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing nine months ago and has yet to be found.