Indonesia Plane JT610 crashes in the waters of Jakarta

NP NEWS 24 ONLINE – A passenger plane carrying 189 people has crashed into the sea off Jakarta, minutes after take-off.

“It has been confirmed that it has crashed,” Yusuf Latif, a spokesman for the country’s search and rescue agency, said on Monday by text message, when asked about the fate of the plane.

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Lion Air crash: officials say 189 onboard lost flight JT610 – latest updates. Flight JT610 lost contact with the ground 13 minutes after take-off, according to an official. The jet was a Boeing 737 MAX 8, which can carry up to 200 passengers, according to air tracking service Flightradar 24.

A search and rescue effort has been launched for the plane, which departed Jakarta about 6.20am on Monday. It was scheduled to land at Pangkal Pinang at 7.20am.

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Pilots requested to return to base shortly before losing contact, said Yohanes Sirait, a spokesman for the country’s air navigation authorities. “The [traffic] control allowed that, but then, it lost contact,” Sirait said.

Wreckage was found near where the aircraft lost contact, said Muhammad Syaugi, head of the search-and-rescue agency. “We don’t know yet whether there are any survivors,” Syaugi told a news conference. “We hope, we pray, but we cannot confirm.”

The crash was the worst airline disaster in Indonesia since an AirAsia flight plunged into the sea in December 2014, killing all 162 on board. An official from Indonesia’s safety transport committee said he could not confirm the cause of the crash.

“We will collect all data from the control tower,” said Soerjanto Tjahjono. “The plane is so modern, it transmits data from the plane and that we will review, too. But the most important is the black box.”