AirAsia Flight QZ8501: British national reportedly named as Choi Chi Man

A British man and his two-year-old Singaporean daughter, who were abroad the missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501, have been reportedly named.

According to Channel News Asia, the man has been named as Choi Chi Man, a managing director at Alstom Power, a large energy company based in Indonesia.

Mr Choi was believed to be travelling on the flight with his two year old daughter, Zoe.

It is also being reported that Mr Choi's wife and son narrowly avoided taking the same flight, choosing to fly home at an earlier time from Surabaya to Singapore.

Mr Choi allegedly only purchased the flight tickets home for himself and his daughter on Friday 26 December.

It is thought that Mr Choi was born in Hull and attended the University of Essex.

His Linkedin profile also states he was working as Unit Managing Director for Thermal Services at Alstom Power, a large energy firm in Indonesia.

The Foreign Office confirmed that a British national was one of the 155 passengers on the missing flight.

In a statement, an FCO spokesman said: "We are aware of an incident regarding AirAsia flight QZ8501.

"Our thoughts are with the passengers' families as they await further news.

"We have been informed by the local authorities that one British national was on board. Their next of kin has been informed, and we stand ready to provide consular assistance."

The Airbus A320-200 was carrying 155 passengers, including 16 children and one infant, when it went missing en route from Indonesia to Singapore.

Prior to disappearing, the pilot contacted Jakarta air traffic control, requesting a "deviation" from the plane's flight path in order to avoid bad weather.