A passenger plane carrying 189 people crashed into the ocean early Monday, just minutes after taking off from Jakarta, according to Indonesian officials.
Lion Air Flight JT-610 had been flying north from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang when it went missing around 6:33 a.m. local time.
The Boeing 737-800 was scheduled to land in the city of Pangkal Pinan, on the Indonesian island of Bangka, around 7:30 a.m., officials said.
It reportedly lost contact with air traffic control just 13 minutes after takeoff.
“It has been confirmed that it has crashed,” said spokesman Yusuf Latif, of Indonesia’s search-and-rescue agency.
Officials believe the plane sank to the bottom of the sea not long after hitting the water.
WATCH: Debris from #LionAir flight #JT610 floating in the sea off Java, after it crashed shortly after take off from Jakarta (📹: BNPB Indonesia) https://t.co/4jVWZli7agpic.twitter.com/A8v34SYC85
— CNA (@ChannelNewsAsia) October 29, 2018
“We don’t know yet whether there are any survivors,” said Muhammad Syaugi, head of the search-and-rescue agency. “We hope, we pray, but we cannot confirm.”
Lion Air is considered one of Indonesia’s fastest-growing and most affordable airlines.
“We are trying to collect all the information and data,” explained chief executive Edward Sirait.
The company has narrowly escaped disaster in the past — specifically in 2013, when Flight 904 crashed into the ocean while attempting to land at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport. All 108 people on board managed to survive.
A crash in 2004, however, left 25 people dead.
With Post wires
