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Missing AirAsia flight QZe501: Debris spotted by Indonesian aircraft in search for missing plane Missing AirAsia flight QZe501: Debris spotted by Indonesian aircraft in search for missing plane
(about 1 hour later)
Several pieces of debris have been spotted floating in the sea off Borneo island, possibly linked to the missing AirAsia jetliner. Debris found off the coast of Borneo may prove to be linked to the search for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501, Indonesian officials said.
Indonesia National Search and Rescue spokesman Yusuf Latif said an Indonesian military aircraft saw white, red and black objects, including what appears to be a life jacket, off the coast, about 105 miles south of Pangkalan Bun. Around 10 objects have been found in the Java Sea, roughly six miles from where the plane lost contact with air traffic control, including what Indonesian air force officials claim are items resembling a plane door and emergency slide.
The agency has dispatched at least one helicopter to pick up the items for investigation, which will be taken to the search and rescue co-ordination post on Belitung Island. Yusef Latif, a spokesperson for the Indonesian Search and Rescue team, called the discovery “most significant” but cautioned: “we cannot confirm anything until the investigation is completed".
PA Mr Latif said an Indonesian military aircraft saw white, red and black objects, including what appears to be a life jacket, off the coast, about 105 miles south of Pangkalan Bun. AirAsia’s livery is red and white.
The Airbus A320-200, carrying 162 individuals including one Briton and his young daughter, disappeared on Sunday while en route from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore.
An international rescue team has been launched with at least 30 ships, 15 aircrafts and seven helicopters scouring the sea around where the plane was last heard from.
The United States announced it was sending the USS Sampson destroyer, joining teams from China, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Thailand also involved in the search, with local fishermen helping Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo told reporters. 
This is the second sighting of debris after a disappointment yesterday when two darken patches on the sea where initially believed to be oil slicks. They later emerged as clutches of coral underwater.
The search has expanded to include not only the sea but nearby land, with two Indonesian helicopters scouring Pangkalan Bun island looking for any sign of wreckage earlier this morning.
Additional helicopters were used to examine the land on the smaller islands of Bangka and Belitung to the east. 
Nearly all the passengers and crew are Indonesians, who are frequent visitors to Singapore, particularly on holidays.
The crash marks a tragic end to aviation in Southeast Asia in 2014. Mystery still surrounds the disappearance of MH370, which disappeared with all 239 passengers on board. The shooting down of MH17 over Ukraine killed all 298 passengers and crew and provoked international outrage amid an outpouring of grief.Additional reporting by Associated Press