The rescue team looking for the missing flight QZ8501 resumed its search on the third day on Tuesday after the AirAsia liner was reported missing during a flight from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore.

At least 30 ships, 15 planes and seven helicopters were looking for the Airbus 320-200, which was carrying 162 passengers, Indonesia's search and rescue agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo told reporters.

"Until now, we have not found any signal or indication of the plane's whereabouts," Soelistyo told the Associated Press. Reconnaisance planes were now combing through and four military helicopters had been dispatched to the western part of Borneo Island. So far the focus had been the Java Sea.

Meanwhile, the United States sent the USS Sampson to help in the search. The ship, deployed in the Western Pacific, is set to arrive on Tuesday.

Australia said it was sending to more Orion aircraft to join the search. Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea's ships and planes were also part of the rescue mission. Chinese authorities also confirmed they were preparing for search operations.

The Air Asia flight QZ8501 took off from Surabaya on Sunday morning and was headed for Singapore, when its pilots asked air traffic control to change course and climb over stormy clouds. However, heavy air traffic made it impossible for the control room to grant the pilots their request.

The flight went off the radar a couple of minutes after the exchange with air traffic officials. The pilot did not issue a distress signal.

Indonesian rescue chief Soelistyo said that based on the plane's last coordinates, it was very likely that the Airbus had crashed and lay "at the bottom of the sea."

mg/rc (AP, Reuters)