A Lion Air Boeing 737 passenger plane carrying 188 people onboard has crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
Flight JT 610, which took off from Jakarta at 06:20 local time Monday morning, October 29, (23:30 GMT Sunday), was on scheduled flight to the main town in Bangka Belitung Islands, Pangkal Pinang when it lost contact with ground control just a few minutes after taking off, and is believed to have ended up under water.
The cause of the crash is yet unknown and there has been no word of any survivors.
The plane was a brand new type of aircraft, Boeing 737 MAX 8.
Items believed to belong to plane's passengers have been found in the sea, including driver's licences and ID cards.
Officials said at an earlier news conference that the plane had been carrying a total of 178 adults, an infant and 2 babies, as well as 2 pilots and 5 cabin crew. However, conflicting reports exist on the exact number of people onboard.
The pilot of Flight JT 610 had asked to return to Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta, the head of Pangkal Pinang's search & rescue office, Danang Priandoko, has told local news outlet.
In a statement, Lion Air said that the pilot and co-pilot were experienced, with over 11,000 flight hours between them. 3 of those onboard were trainee flight attendants, one was a technician.
At least twenty employees from Indonesia's finance ministry were also onboard. A spokesperson for Indonesia's Finance Ministry said they worked at the ministry offices in Pangkal Pinang and had been in Jakarta for the weekend. The people routinely took this flight.
The aircraft, Boeing 737 MAX 8, is a model only in commercial use since 2016. The aircraft involved in the plane crash was made in 2018 and has been operated only by the airline since August 15, 2018. It's a single aisle plane that is used for short-haul travel.
Lion Air is the largest low-cost carrier in Indonesia, operating flights domestically and a number of international routes in the Middle East, South East Asia and Australia