Airplane with 62 people on board is missing after flying out from the capital, Jakarta
46 adults, seven children and three infants on board along with six crew members
Dozen vessels, including four warships, deployed in a search and rescue operation
An Indonesian Sriwijaya Air plane feared to have crashed into the sea after the Boeing 737 lost contact with air traffic control in the capital Jakarta. Flight tracking data showing it plunged into a steep dive just minutes after take-off.
The Boeing 737-500 vanished from radar screens at 2:30 pm (0730 GMT). Indonesian Transport Minister Budi Karya told a news conference that 62 people had been aboard, including 12 crew.
Budget airline said the Boeing 737-500 was on an estimated 90-minute flight from Jakarta to Pontianak. Pontianak is the capital of West Kalimantan province on Indonesia’s Borneo island.
It was raining at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at the time of take-off for Pontianak, around 740km (460 miles) away.
About 46 adults, seven children and three infants were on board along with six crew members. Boarding delayed because of heavy rain.
Karya said a dozen vessels, including four warships, deployed in a search and rescue operation. The operation centred between Lancang island and Laki island, part of the Thousand Islands chain just north of Jakarta
Surachman, a local government official, told Kompas TV that fishermen found what appeared to be the wreckage of an aircraft in waters north of Jakarta.
“We found some cables, a piece of jeans, and pieces of metal on the water,” Zulkifli, a security official, told CNNIndonesia.com.
Agus Haryono, an official of the Basarnas search-and-rescue agency, told Reuters news agency it had not been confirmed the debris came from Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ182. Agus said 50 people were taking part in the search and they would keep working into the night.
Reliable tracking service Flightradar24 said on its Twitter feed that Flight SJ182 “lost more than 10,000 feet [3,000 metres] of altitude in less than one minute, about 4 minutes after departure from Jakarta”.
Television footage showed relatives and friends of people aboard the plane weeping, praying and hugging each other as they waited at Jakarta’s airport and Pontianak’s airport.
The aircraft is a 27-year-old Boeing 737-500, according to registration details included in the tracking data.
“Many airlines in Indonesia have had issues in the past but this is a story that has caught many people off guard as Sriwijaya Air does have some reliable history,” Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington, reporting from Jakarta, said.
A Boeing spokeswoman said: “We are aware of media reports from Jakarta and are closely monitoring the situation. We are working to gather more information.”
