'Suspicious objects', oil slick spotted - Reports

The Australian aircraft, which is part of the SAR operation, spotted the objects near Nangka island, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Pangkalan Bun, near central Kalimantan which is some 700 miles from where the missing AirAsia plane lost communication with the Jakarta air traffic control yesterday.

According to Associated Press, Jakarta's Air Force base commander Rear Marshal Dwi Putranto was informed of the matter today.

However, it cannot be confirmed if the objects were part of the missing plane, the AP report said.

"We cannot be sure whether it is part of the missing AirAsia plane. We are now moving in that direction, which is in cloudy conditions," the report quoted Putranto as saying.

Meanwhile, an Indonesian news portal reported that oil slick was spotted in Belitung waters.

The report said a team from the Indonesian search and rescue operations (BASARNAS) is on its way to check if the oil slick is from the missing AirAsia aircraft, or just spills from ships going through the Karimata Straits.

The oil slick was spotted at 90 degree radius some 105 nautical miles away from Belitung. “We are on our way there using a helicopter and a plane,” BASARNAS communications director Sutono told Metrotvnews.com in Belitung today.

The coordinates where the oil slick was spotted is located on the Karimata Straits, a very popular route for ships. “We need to fully determine if it’s from the missing plane because it’s on a busy naval pathway,” the report quoted Sutono as saying.

Meanwhile, several hours ago, two weak Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) signals were detected by the SAR team using high-tech equipment, said the report. But when they went to the area, the signals were lost and there was no sign of the missing plane.