DHAKA: The hunt for AirAsia flight QZ8501 has entered a third day, with the search area widened to cover land and sea, reports BBC.

Indonesian officials say they are sending teams to investigate reports of smoke on an island in East Bilutung, inside the expanded search zone.

The Airbus A320-200, carrying 162 people, disappeared on Sunday shortly after leaving Surabaya in eastern Java, Indonesia, on its way to Singapore.

The pilot’s last contact was a request to divert around bad weather.

Countries around the region as well as the US, France and Australia are joining the search over the Java sea.

Indonesian officials say air traffic control approved one request, then gave clearance to a second request - asking permission to climb - two to three minutes later.

No reply was received and the plane disappeared from radar. No trace has yet been found.

BDST: 0958 HRS, DEC 30, 2014