SINGAPORE, Dec 28 (Reuters) –

Budget carrier AirAsia confirmed on Sunday that its flight QZ 8501 from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore had lost contact with air traffic control.

The Airbus 320-200 had 155 passengers and crew on board, Indonesian transport officials said.

Indonesian media said 149 Indonesians, three people from Korea, and one from Singapore, Britain and Malaysia were on board.

A search and rescue operation had been launched, Malaysian-based AirAsia said. (Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Dean Yates)