'The uncertainty is unbearable' says brother of Briton lost aboard missing AirAsia flight
THE BROTHER of a British man believed to have been travelling aboard missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 has described how his family are preparing for the worst.
Chi-Man Choi is understood to have been travelling with his two-year-old daughter Zoe when the plane vanished on its journey from Indonesia to Singapore this weekend.
His wife Mei-Yi Wee and five-year-old son Luca had been waiting at Singapore's Changi airport for the plane after arriving on an earlier flight.
Mei-Yi is still believed to be at the airport along with other relatives of the 162 passengers and crew aboard the missing jet.
Mr Choi's brother, Chi-Wai, is comforting the brothers' elderly parents and has revealed how the family are bracing themselves for bad news, adding: "If there was anything to find then they would have found it by now."
He told The Sun: "It doesn't look good at the moment."
The Foreign Office has confirmed a Briton was among those on the missing Airbus A320-200 plane and said their next of kin had been informed.
Mr Choi, who was born in Hull, in Yorkshire and successfully graduated from the University of Essex in 1988 had recently taken a position as managing director at Alstom Power, a large energy firm based in Indonesia.
It's so frustrating, the uncertainty is unbearable. We know it's not looking great. We are prepared for that
"My brother had just started a new job in Indonesia and was travelling back to his wife's family in Singapore," added his brother Chi-Wai to the newspaper.
He continued: "His wife is keeping us informed but there is no news at the moment.
"We're trying to get through to AirAsia but it's proving very difficult.
"It's so frustrating, the uncertainty is unbearable.
"It's a very difficult time for all of the family, we've got to stick together and pull through.
"We know it's not looking great. We are prepared for that."
The remaining family members in the UK are preparing to travel to Singapore over the next few days.
Chi-Wai explained: "It's been hard to keep in the loop of what's going on when we're so far away from the action."
AirAsia flight QZ8501 lost contact with air traffic control at 7:24am (23:24 GMT) flying from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
Indonesian officials said the crew requested to deviate from the usual route to avoid bad weather shortly before contact was lost.
The captain reportedly asked to increase altitude to "avoid bad weather".
Relatives in Indonesia, Singapore await news of missing plane
Dozens of the passengers' distraught relatives have gathered at Juanda airport in Surabaya and Singapore's Changi airport to hear the latest news.
While AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes has arrived in Indonesia as the search for the missing passenger jet continues.
Writing on Twitter, he described the plane's disappearance as his "worst nightmare".
The 50-year-old businessman added: "Our priority is looking after all the next of kin for my staff and passengers.
"We will do whatever we can."
