Pinoy Buzz: Indonesia

Philippines remains SEA basketball king, beats Indonesia for gold medal

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas might played its worst in the semis against Singapore yesterday but showed a superb all-around basketball performance in its finals showdown against Indonesia to cop the South East Asian Men’s Basketball crown on Saturday, August 26, 2017 at the MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp54DjXscbkmvFNVuhKeDDaQDNvQXC8i_UF66PW8j3fxwvEFYql8VQQCmcVXzD7cOv-3efBC1jXUwFxP3SKCf6KbvfIbgHpI5UfuD8xaKh8YKHjD6Rqyn6WR44vwRsv2MjvWT1SlIHZbLn/s1600/gilas-pilipinas-sea-games-2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Philippines remains SEA basketball king" border="0" class="img" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp54DjXscbkmvFNVuhKeDDaQDNvQXC8i_UF66PW8j3fxwvEFYql8VQQCmcVXzD7cOv-3efBC1jXUwFxP3SKCf6KbvfIbgHpI5UfuD8xaKh8YKHjD6Rqyn6WR44vwRsv2MjvWT1SlIHZbLn/s1600/gilas-pilipinas-sea-games-2017.jpg" title="Philippines remains SEA basketball king" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CONGRATULATIONS, Gilas Pilipinas! Photo Credit: Sports5</td></tr></tbody></table>Bobby Ray Parks Jr. had the last laugh against Tyler Lamb as Team Thailand fell short in the hands of Mario Wuysang and Team Indonesia during their semis duel. Nevertheless, it was still a high mountain to climb for Gilas Pilipinas in facing Indonesia in the SEA Games Men’s basketball finals.<br /><br />Gilas Pilipinas had a bad night from the outside yesterday against Singapore. But tonight, Von Pessumal officially opened the finals showdown from the three point territory followed by Christian Standhardinger’s back-to-back two pointers.<br /><div id="unruly-unit"></div><br />Indonesia kept the game close through the impeccable court vision and leadership of ABL veteran Mario Wuysang. 12-9 in favor of Philippines with 5 more minutes remaining in the opening quarter.<br /><br />Indo-American Arky Wisnu beat Kiefer Ravena and Troy Rosario off transition to claim the lead for the very first time. Carl Cruz however, drained a timely trey to bring the lead back to Gilas’ side.<br /><br />Philippines’ barely survived the 1st period with a slim 4-point, 19-15 lead.<br /><br />Both squads struggled to score baskets in the early phase of the 2nd quarter. Standhardinger initiated the attack midway of the second to post Philippines’ first double-digit, 30-17 lead. Notably, Gilas blitzed for 11-2 scoring run to improve its performance.<br /><br />Mike Tolomia and Kiefer Ravena started to rain triples to surpass Philippines’ poor outside shooting against Indonesia in the semifinals. Tolomia alone matched Gilas’ total 3-pointers yesterday with 3.<br /><br />Troy Rosario’s put back slam off Kobe Paras’ missed free throw ended the 1st half big time. 45-27 in favor of Gilas Pilipinas. <br /><br />Gang rebounding was Gilas’ key to success in the 1st half at least that gave them a good margin. The nationals sustained it at the start of the 2nd half to maintain their lead.<br /><br />A controversy occurred in the 6th minute of the third. Christian Standhardinger got fouled in the act of shooting and was awarded with free throws. The Fil-German made the first attempt but Indonesia quickly inbounded the ball and rushed to their goal. To Philippines’ surprise, the referees missed to give Standhardinger his 2nd foul shot. Despite the misfortune, Gilas still enjoyed a 20-point lead.<br /><br />Good ball distribution was Philippines’ bread and butter in this game along with less turnovers. On the other hand, Indonesia was hit hard by bad luck as all players missed multiple shots.  The Indonesians only scored 7 points in the 3rd quarter with 8 minutes gone by since the 2nd half started.<br /><br />After 30 minutes of lopsided basketball, Philippines brought a 29-point, 68-39 lead to the final 10 minutes of the ballgame.<br /><br />Indonesia literally needed a miracle in order to upset Philippines with just a full quarter to go. Indonesian Coach Wahyu Widayat Jati sensed that a comeback is almost impossible with his team downed by 30 plus points, so he opted to rest his superstars Mario Wuysang and Arki Wisnu and let the supporting cast finished the game.<br /><br />Coach Jong Uichico did a great job in containing deadly Mario Wuysang and limited the guard to just 2 points. In the absence of Wuysang, Sandy Kurniawan took the helm and single-handedly moving Indonesia’s digits.<br /><br />It was all Kobe Paras in the final canto. The young Paras made the crowd crazy as he displayed thunderous and emphatic dunks. The Filipinos cheered “Kobe! Kobe!” relentlessly as a sign of amusement and applause to the high-flying forward.<br /><br />As the final horn echoed in the entire MABA stadium, Gilas Pilipinas swept the tournament and dismantled Indonesia to the tune of 94-55. Along with this, Philippines Men’s Basketball Team bagged its 17th gold medal in Southeast Asian Games history.<br /><br />Congratulations, Gilas Pilipinas! Your countrymen are so proud of you! Laban Pilipinas! Puso!<br /><br /><b>-- Joey Boy Capos, The Summit Express</b></div>

Philippines remains SEA basketball king, beats Indonesia for gold medal

MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas might played its worst in the semis against Singapore yesterday but showed a superb all-around basketb...

LIVESTREAM: Gilas Pilipinas vs Indonesia Finals SEA Games 2017

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">MANILA, Philippines - Gilas Pilipinas is now on the road for the Philippines' 18th basketball gold medal at the 2017 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. The national team will face tough opponent, Team Indonesia tonight, August 27 at the MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in the finals matchup. Catch the conclusion of another journey of bringing honor to the country through livestream.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlR1BBWx9gKDJd7GSiSxTKaDw83-coVmrCsq1Q2EYNMQIxnZu159M4aw4PfqsrIEFGuonQDygWMEGHVTmDP1k5KObpyrVtPlJmRvYQmNieFr0bS-9nMomsTOcPSBZG2ssY6xxmWLx2NpT/s1600/gilas-pilipinas-sea-games-2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Gilas Pilipinas vs Indonesia Finals SEA Games 2017" border="0" class="img" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlR1BBWx9gKDJd7GSiSxTKaDw83-coVmrCsq1Q2EYNMQIxnZu159M4aw4PfqsrIEFGuonQDygWMEGHVTmDP1k5KObpyrVtPlJmRvYQmNieFr0bS-9nMomsTOcPSBZG2ssY6xxmWLx2NpT/s1600/gilas-pilipinas-sea-games-2017.jpg" title="Gilas Pilipinas vs Indonesia Finals SEA Games 2017" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gilas Pilipinas faces Indonesia in the 2017 SEA Games men's basketball finals. Photo Credit: Sports5</td></tr></tbody></table>The defending champion of the biennial meet is still undefeated though the team actually struggled in some of their games - against Thailand and Singapore.<br /><br />On Friday night, <b><a href="http://pinoybuzz.blogkorner.com/2017/08/gilas-pilipinas-heads-to-sea-games-2017-finals.html" rel="nofollow">Gilas Pilipinas survived team Singapore</a></b>’s scary scoring run to edge the latter in their semis duel, 68-60. Christian Standhardinger showed the Singaporeans how tough and formidable Gilas Pilipinas is as he registered a double-double: 13 points and 13 rebounds to help Gilas Pilipinas advance to the finals.<br /><br />"Things will get more interesting from there. We have to bring our A-game and set our sights on winning the title," Gilas coach Jong Uichico said, according to ABS-CBN Sports.<br /><div id="unruly-unit"></div><br />The Indonesians also come in with a perfect mark, preserving their record by surviving Thailand in the other semifinal pairing.<br /><br />The basketball finals at 8:15 p.m. is a rematch of the 2017 SEABA Championships. Gilas Pilipinas dominated that contest, 97-64, and moved on to the FIBA-Asia Cup.<br /><br /><b>Channel for Live Broadcast in the Philippines</b>: TV5, AksyonTV<br /><br /><b>Watch Gilas Pilipinas vs. Indonesia on livestream courtesy</b> of (http://sports.tv5.com.ph/live/sea-games-2017-live-stream).<br /><br /><center><div style="height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.21%; position: relative;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zskZyd8UWjg?ecver=2" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; width: 100%;" width="641"></iframe></div></center><br />Get live updates through Sports 5's coverage of 2017 SEA Games:<br /><br /><center><a class="twitter-timeline" data-height="800" href="https://twitter.com/Sports5PH" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tweets by Sports5PH</a> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></center><br />Good luck, Gilas Pilipinas! #PUSO</div>

LIVESTREAM: Gilas Pilipinas vs Indonesia Finals SEA Games 2017

MANILA, Philippines - Gilas Pilipinas is now on the road for the Philippines' 18th basketball gold medal at the 2017 Southeast Asian (SE...

Battle for Life Continues: Indonesia delays Mary Jane Veloso’s execution

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">MANILA, Philippines - Tears of joy erupted among her family and the public holding a vigil in front of the Indonesian embassy in Makati City upon news confirming the <a href="http://pinoybuzz.blogkorner.com/2015/04/indonesia-to-execute-mary-jane-veloso-by-firing-squad-on-tuesday.html" rel="nofollow">Filipina drug convict Mary Jane Veloso</a> got a last-minute reprieve from the Indonesian government earlier this morning, April 29.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryj_5TZraCTabWJo20anV8lz6pgV3OShisWeV5iVZRiIER0Olt8Ivu4Qw__9XMiqBjg5Oj52tka37zweI5eTqiz5Ij_VShhP2himSEazTual9JMMCUpHoXIBJNudJoyA2eWIfQ5pOPB4i/s1600/Mary-Jane-Veloso.jpg" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mary Jane Veloso" border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryj_5TZraCTabWJo20anV8lz6pgV3OShisWeV5iVZRiIER0Olt8Ivu4Qw__9XMiqBjg5Oj52tka37zweI5eTqiz5Ij_VShhP2himSEazTual9JMMCUpHoXIBJNudJoyA2eWIfQ5pOPB4i/s1600/Mary-Jane-Veloso.jpg" title="Mary Jane Veloso" width="560" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Jane Veloso| Credit: Jefta Images/Barcroft Media Collection</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The announcement was officially made by the Indonesia’s Attorney General Office earlier. There are two sides rumored to be the reasons on Veloso’s temporary escape from Indonesia’s 12-man firing squad – her personal letter of appeal and the voluntary submission to the authorities of Veloso’s recruiter named Maria Kristina Sergio. With the sudden turnaround of the events, Manila is hoping that Veloso may be turned as a witness from being a convicted drug smuggler to aid in Indonesia and the Philippines in their efforts to curb drug related crimes.<br /><br /><b>#MARYJANELIVES AND THE DIGITAL PEOPLE POWER</b><br /><br />The Twitterverse was greeted with a jubilant crowd as the hashtag #MaryJaneLives trended both in the Philippines and worldwide as news of her last-minute temporary escape from death surfaced. News about Veloso’s reprieve also graced the headlines of various local and global media platforms.<br /><br />Veloso, a 30-year old mother of two and a former Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Dubai has spent the last five years of her life in prison after being caught with a USD 500,000 worth of heroin in her luggage weighing about 2.6 kilograms on her arrival at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta way back in April 2010. <br /><br />Unfortunately, it was only Veloso who was saved from the execution as the other eight convicted drug smugglers already faced their fate. Indonesia’s staunch move is said to put strain on its bilateral relationships with other countries. As of this writing, reports are saying that the Australian government already pulled out its Australian ambassador to Jakarta with its Prime Minister Tony Abbot describes the execution as “cruel and unnecessary.” The French government is putting more pressure to Widodo’s administration as it is also trying to save its convicted national, Serge Atlaoui from death.<br /><br />Indonesia is known to have one of the world’s most stringent set of laws to combat drug-related crimes among countries such as Singapore, China, Saudi Arabia and Japan with death penalty as its ultimate punishment to convicted perpetrators of the said crime. <b><i>- Michael Santiago, TheSummitExpress</i></b></div>

Battle for Life Continues: Indonesia delays Mary Jane Veloso’s execution

MANILA, Philippines - Tears of joy erupted among her family and the public holding a vigil in front of the Indonesian embassy in Makati City...

Indonesia to execute Mary Jane Veloso by Firing Squad on Tuesday

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">MANILA, Philippines - Despite the appeals made by the Philippines, the Indonesian government vows to adhere with its stringent anti-drug law by executing the eight convicted drug smugglers, including the Filipina Mary Jane Veloso on Tuesday, April 28.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RZ0sMPtJ7NwrOU4uPlUvh455dwhaDPfXJc3I8EQJGZYe-w2Nuw9C9ylRxwfN8nNeqmlzdmO4ZXHzln6jcUsDaWTNkpdvHqndJNi2zGJDJmEIuB3q2R5maZlvbnK1M63NKnLBInd55aA5/s1600/savemaryjane.jpg" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Save Mary Jane Veloso" border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RZ0sMPtJ7NwrOU4uPlUvh455dwhaDPfXJc3I8EQJGZYe-w2Nuw9C9ylRxwfN8nNeqmlzdmO4ZXHzln6jcUsDaWTNkpdvHqndJNi2zGJDJmEIuB3q2R5maZlvbnK1M63NKnLBInd55aA5/s1600/savemaryjane.jpg" title="Save Mary Jane Veloso" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Save Mary Jane Veloso | Credit:migranteinternational.org</td></tr></tbody></table><br />According to an online report pertaining to Veloso’s current situation by PTV-4, a government owned television network of the Philippines, the Attorney General Office of Indonesia sent the order of execution to Veloso’s family last Friday, April 24. Together with other convicted drug smugglers from Nigeria, Australia and Brazil, Veloso was already transferred to the island prison Nusakambangan in Indonesia for their execution via firing squad.<br /><br />Veloso, a 30-year old mother of two and a former Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Dubai has spent the last five years of her life in prison after being caught with a USD 500,000 worth of heroin in her luggage weighing about 2.6 kilograms on her arrival at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta way back in April 2010. Since then, the Philippine government has sent numerous appeals to save Veloso’s life but to no avail even as of the moment.<br /><br /><br /><b>#SAVEMARYJANE: Pinoy netizens hopeful for Veloso</b><br /><br />Public outcry for saving Veloso’s life has been making rounds in and out of the internet, the online Facebook page ‘Save the Life of Mary Jane Veloso’ which already garnered 6,200 likes as of this writing has been actively mustering a bolder support from the public. Earlier this afternoon also, Secretary General Renato Reyes of BAYAN posted on his Facebook account photos of the vigil in front of the Indonesian embassy calling to save Veloso’s life. <br /><br /><center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">Urgent! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaveMaryJane?src=hash" rel="nofollow">#SaveMaryJane</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZOOVNTgxqY" rel="nofollow">https://t.co/ZOOVNTgxqY</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/changepilipinas" rel="nofollow">@ChangePilipinas</a><br />— Greta Talip (@gretawallofchna) <a href="https://twitter.com/gretawallofchna/status/592302985910296576" rel="nofollow">April 26, 2015</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></center><br /><center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">Triple-jeopardy: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MaryJaneVeloso?src=hash" rel="nofollow">#MaryJaneVeloso</a> is a victim of international drug syndicate, human trafficking, and PH government neglect. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaveMaryJane?src=hash" rel="nofollow">#SaveMaryJane</a><br />— Cleve V. Arguelles (@clevearguelles) <a href="https://twitter.com/clevearguelles/status/592302881740492800" rel="nofollow">April 26, 2015</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></center><br /><center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">Calling on PH youth and students: let's hold assemblies, candle lighting activities, tie white ribbons to call for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaveMaryJane?src=hash" rel="nofollow">#SaveMaryJane</a><br />— Vencer Crisostomo (@venzie) <a href="https://twitter.com/venzie/status/592289834888200193" rel="nofollow">April 26, 2015</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></center><br />The hashtag #SaveMaryJane has been trending also on Twitter over the past days.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the Catholic officials from the Philippines and Indonesia has been urging the public to strengthen Veloso’s chances of being spared from the deathrow by asking to offer prayers for her. Masses for Veloso were also held the past weeks in both countries.<br /><br /><br /><b>Jokowi remains dignified against criticisms, PNoy going for another push for Veloso</b><br /><br />UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also aired his appeal to Indonesian President Joko Widodo DK to spare the convicts from death Jokowi as he was fondly called by his countrymen remains unopposed with his stand on pushing through with the execution despite also of various pleas made by the foreign governments representing those who were in deathrow. President Benigno Aquino III will exhume the remaining resources that his government has to save Veloso when he meets again with Jokowi tomorrow, April 27 at the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia.<br /><br /><b><i>- Michael Santiago, TheSummitExpress</i></b></div>

Indonesia to execute Mary Jane Veloso by Firing Squad on Tuesday

MANILA, Philippines - Despite the appeals made by the Philippines, the Indonesian government vows to adhere with its stringent anti-drug law...

Missing AirAsia Flight 8501 Update: 95% certain debris is from missing plane, says search official

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Indonesian civil aviation chief on Tuesday believes that pieces of debris spotted in the water near where AirAsia Flight 8501 went missing is from the missing plane.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIflk4dsfiXgFFjE4-wrX1qfhE1cG70NMmwtEiN9MtQ4POcCtRgig1LSiEvRYxTeYUXwPfOckC-hlWZNpZrrEfyx9mBBpvuRLIg7b5d3DcrmChLrYaHXtOt4Ma78SxUkVdGa4yGMLCo-1A/s1600/debris-8501.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="95% certain debris is from missing AirAsia plane" border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIflk4dsfiXgFFjE4-wrX1qfhE1cG70NMmwtEiN9MtQ4POcCtRgig1LSiEvRYxTeYUXwPfOckC-hlWZNpZrrEfyx9mBBpvuRLIg7b5d3DcrmChLrYaHXtOt4Ma78SxUkVdGa4yGMLCo-1A/s1600/debris-8501.png" title="95% certain debris is from missing AirAsia plane" width="560" /></a></div><br /><br />“We spotted about 10 big objects and many more small white-coloured objects which we could not photograph,” an Indonesian air force official, Air Vice-Marshall Agus Dwi Putranto, told in a press conference. <br /><br /><center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QZ8501?src=hash">#QZ8501</a>: 10 big objects & many more small white-coloured objects spotted, says Indonesian air force official <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AirAsia?src=hash">#AirAsia</a> <a href="http://t.co/g8KItBxn33">pic.twitter.com/g8KItBxn33</a><br />— New Straits Times (@NST_Online) <a href="https://twitter.com/NST_Online/status/549809290303647746">December 30, 2014</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></center><br />“The position is 10km from the location the plane was last captured by radar,” he told AFP.<br /><br />The National Search and Rescue Agency confirmed the Navy found an object underwater that resembled a plane, while several commanders are confident an emergency exit door is among the debris, according to local media on Twitter. They said due to everything seen so far, the agency is 95% certain it is AirAsia Flight 8501.<br /><br /><center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">Indonesia rescue agency says 95% sure debris from AirAsia flight <a href="http://t.co/wDdI8FGCt5">http://t.co/wDdI8FGCt5</a><br />— Channel NewsAsia (@ChannelNewsAsia) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChannelNewsAsia/status/549841250841395200">December 30, 2014</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></center><br />Search officials are concerned that currents in the waters could cause the debris to spread before the teams arrive, reports CNN.<br /><br />Channel News Asia also reported that search officials are bringing body bags to Pangkalan Bun in preparation for the worst.<br /><br />The search and locate operations for the missing AirAsia plane continues on day 3, Tuesday (Dec 30). About 30 ships and 15 aircraft have been mobilised for a multi-national search.<br /><br />AirAsia flight QZ8501 en route to Changi Airport in Singapore disappeared on Sunday morning over the Java Sea with 162 people on board. </div>

Missing AirAsia Flight 8501 Update: 95% certain debris is from missing plane, says search official

Indonesian civil aviation chief on Tuesday believes that pieces of debris spotted in the water near where AirAsia Flight 8501 went missing i...

Air Asia flight QZ 8501 bound for Singapore missing - reports

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Air Asia flight QZ 8501 with 162 people on board travelling from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control, AirAsia Indonesia has confirmed on Sunday, December 28, 2014.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXRZptiB_DwfUBNpEU41JTjFncHzCEQyzB_muz9uFwS_QebNlIKuREa977HQycHtm2JF6s2oGig7zJv9pgaE4uKdk2zU7Pu4yenbMkiehQuQe8fIX6LCFvYbSKfKvm3MKZvup-o96NxW08/s1600/Air-Asia-missing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Air Asia flight QZ 8501 bound for Singapore missing - reports" border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXRZptiB_DwfUBNpEU41JTjFncHzCEQyzB_muz9uFwS_QebNlIKuREa977HQycHtm2JF6s2oGig7zJv9pgaE4uKdk2zU7Pu4yenbMkiehQuQe8fIX6LCFvYbSKfKvm3MKZvup-o96NxW08/s1600/Air-Asia-missing.jpg" title="Air Asia flight QZ 8501 bound for Singapore missing - reports" width="560" /></a></div><br /><br />"AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24hrs this morning," Air Asia said.<br /><br />"At the present time we unfortunately have no further information regarding the status of the passengers and crew members on board, but we will keep all parties informed as more information becomes available," the airline company added.<br /><br />Indonesian media said 149 Indonesians, three people from Korea, and one from Singapore, Britain and Malaysia were on board.<br /><br />Metro TV said that QZ 8501 took off from Surabaya at 5:20 am local time on Sunday and was scheduled to land at Changi Airport in Singapore at 8.30 am.<br /><br />The aircraft involved is an Airbus A320-216 registered PK-AXC.<br /><br />Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa told Indonesian media that the aircraft lost contact with the Jakarta air traffic control tower at 6:17am local (23:17GMT). He said the plane had asked for an unusual route before it lost contact, Reuters reported. <br /><br />At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service.<br /><br />AirAsia has established an Emergency Call Centre that is available for family or friends of those who may have been on board the aircraft. The number is: +622129850801.<br /><br />AirAsia said it will release further information as soon as it becomes available. <br /><br />As of press time, Air Asia has changed its profile photos of  Facebook and Twitter pages to spread awareness and emphasize the saddest day of the year for the airline company.</div>

Air Asia flight QZ 8501 bound for Singapore missing - reports

Air Asia flight QZ 8501 with 162 people on board travelling from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control,...