Although rescuers were searching the Java Sea for AirAsia's missing plane, they had to stop at 5:30 a.m. EST on Sunday because it was getting too dark.

"We ended at 5.30pm (1030 GMT) because it was getting dark. The weather was also not too good as it was getting really cloudy," transport ministry official Hadi Mustofa told AFP, according to Channel News Asia. "Tomorrow we will begin at 7am, or even earlier than that if the weather is good."

News that AirAsia flight QZ8501 had lost contact with air traffic control came just before 11 p.m. EST on Saturday.

AirAsia released a tweet informing people that the flight from Surabaya to Singapore had lost contact, and it also linked to a Facebook statement that provided more information.

"At the present time we unfortunately have no further information regarding the status of the passengers and crew members on board, but we will keep all parties informed as more information becomes available," the Facebook post said. "The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PX-AXC."

Since the original statement, AirAsia provided more information on its website. Details of the passengers and the crew were released. Two pilots, four flight attendants and one engineer were on board. The main pilot had 6,100 flying hours and the first officer had 2,275 hours.

There were 155 passengers, with one infant, 16 children and 138 adults, according to AirAsia. Most of the people on board were from Indonesia.

And the statement included that the plane went through maintenance on Nov. 16.

"At this time, search and rescue operations are being conducted under the guidance of The Indonesia of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)," the statement said. "AirAsia Indonesia is cooperating fully and assisting the investigation in every possible way."

The plane was on the flight route that was submitted but the pilots asked to deviate because of the weather.

To avoid thick cloud, the pilot asked to climb to 38,000 feet, Indonesia's transport ministry said, according to the BBC. AirAsia has never lost a plane.

The plane lost contact with air traffic control less than an hour after taking off, Mustofa said to MetroTV, according to The Associated Press.