Indonesian VP says object in sea not from flight QZ8501

Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla (third from left) speaking to the media on the latest updates in the search for AirAsia flight QZ8501. – Reuters pic, December 29, 2014.An object spotted during a sea search for an AirAsia plane was not from the aircraft, Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla said today after reports that an Australian surveillance aircraft had found something.

"It has been checked and no sufficient evidence was found to confirm what was reported," Kalla told a press conference at the Juanda International Airport in Surabaya from where the ill-fated plane departed.

Australia, Singapore and Malaysia have deployed military planes and ships to assist in the Indonesian search for flight QZ8501, which disappeared over the Java Sea yesterday en route to Singapore.

Kalla said there were 15 ships and 30 aircraft searching the area.

"It is not an easy operation in the sea, especially in bad weather like this," he said.

Indonesian Air Force spokesman Hadi Tjahjanto told AFP the search was now focused on a patch of oil spotted off Belitung island in the Java Sea. – AFP