No Survivor found. Up to 40 bodies retrieved and counting

QZ8501 AirAsia's Surabaya-Singapore flight carrying 155 passengers and seven crew members on board went missing on Sunday.

The Airbus 320-200 took off from Surabaya in Java, Indonesia, at 5.20am local time (6.20am Malaysian time) and was due to arrive in Singapore two hours later, but it lost contact with air traffic control.

Search and rescue (SAR) efforts have since been launched by the Indonesian authorities.

The first reports state that the plane allegedly crashed near Belitung Island, off the coast of Sumatra.