- An Indonesian flight carrying more than 50 passengers lost contact within four minutes of taking off from Jakarta, according to the flight detector’s website FlightRadar24.
- Sriwijaya Air flight # SJ182 flies to Pontianak in Borneo, Indonesia, about 740 km from Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
- The Boeing 737-500 lost more than 10,000 feet in one minute and an ADS-B signal was lost at 14:37 local time.
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A passenger plane departing from Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday lost contact within four minutes of taking off, according to the flight detector’s website FlightRadar24.
The Indonesian Sriwijaya Air Flight # SJ182 apparently carried 56 passengers and six crew members.
There are believed to be 50 passengers, including seven children and three babies, and 12 crew members on board, although the number has not been confirmed by officials.
The 27-year-old was a Boeing 737-500, which is not the same as the controversial Boeing 737 Max model that has been involved in two major accidents over the past few years.
Search and rescue operations are currently underway. Photos and videos of aircraft debris have appeared on social media.
Several residents of a nearby island told the BBC that they had found objects that they said were from the plane.
One local fisherman said he saw an accident, and that the plane “fell like lightning into the sea and exploded in the water”, according to the BBC.
“It was pretty close to us, the shards of a kind of plywood almost hitting my ship,” said the fisherman, whose name is Solihin.
—Flightradar24 (@ flightradar24) 9 January 2021
The Sriwijaya Air flight flew to Pontianak in Borneo, about 740 km from Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport.
It lost more than 10,000 feet in less than a minute, with signal lost at 14.37 local time.
Sriwijaya Air said in a statement that it was gathering more and more detailed information about the flight.
” A Sriwijaya (Air) plane from Jakarta to Pontianak (on Borneo Island) with call sign SJY182 lost contact, ” Adita Irawati, spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport, said according to the Guardian.
Sriwijaya Air is Indonesia’s third largest airline, listed as a Category 1 airline, which is the country’s highest safety rating.
In October 2018, an Indonesian Lion Air flight plunged into the sea about 12 minutes after taking off from Jakarta, killing 189 people.
This is a crucial news report and more information will be added as soon as it becomes available.