KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- AirAsia Bhd group CEO Tony Fernandes is heading to Surabaya in Indonesia's East Java province on Sunday to cooperate in the search and rescue efforts for the missing Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ8501. "On my way to Surabaya where most of the passengers are from as with my Indonesian management. Providing information as we get it," he said on Twitter. "My only thought is with the passengers and my crew. We put our hope in the search and rescue operation and thank the Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysian governments,"he added.

An AirAsia passenger plane with 162 people aboard lost contact with the air traffic control on Sunday soon after taking off from Surabaya in Indonesia 's East Java province.

There were 155 passengers and seven crew members on board the Singapore-bound Airbus A320-200 aircraft, including 16 children and an infant, the airline said in a statement.

Indonesia has been deploying three planes and ships to search for the missing plane that lost contact at 6:17 a.m. Jakarta time Sunday (2317 GMT Saturday). The Singapore air force and the navy were also searching with two C-130 planes.