AirAsia QZ8501: 'Too early to confirm sightings as plane debris'

The missing AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501 is likely to be at the bottom of the sea, the head of Indonesia's search-and-rescue agency has said.

Bambang Soelistyo said the hypothesis was based on the co-ordinates of the plane when contact with it was lost.

The search is continuing for the aircraft, a day after it disappeared with 162 people on board.

Indonesia's vice president Jusuf Kalla told a news conference it was still too early to know whether sightings of possible debris were connected to the missing aircraft.