A search and rescue operation is underway Saturday after a Boeing passenger jet carrying 62 individuals lost contact with air visitors controllers after taking off from Indonesia’s capital on a domestic flight, officers stated.
Sriwijaya Air flight #SJ182, a Boeing 737-500, took off from Jakarta at about 1:56 p.m. local time and lost contact with the control tower at 2:40 p.m., stated Indonesian Transportation Ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati.
The airplane’s route was estimated to be a 90-minute flight to Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan province on Indonesia’s Borneo island. There have been 56 passengers and 6 crew members on board.
“The missing airplane is currently under investigation and under coordination with the National Search and Rescue Agency and the National Transportation Safety Committee,” Irawati stated in a statement.
Boeing spokeswoman Dana Salloum stated the Chicago-based airplane producer is conscious of media information from Jakarta and closely monitoring the situation.
“We are working to gather more info,” she stated.
The Boeing 737-500 lost more than 10,000 feet in altitude in one minute, four minutes after departure, based on the flight-tracking service FlightRadar24.com, the airplane’s last identified altitude was 250 ft with its highest altitude being 10,900 ft, the service reported.
An airplane flying from Jakarta to Pontianak would spend most of the flights over the Java Sea.
Local media outlets stated fishermen spotted metal objects believed to be parts of a plane on Saturday afternoon within the Thousand Islands, a chain of islands north of Jakarta. Kompas TV stated that a fisherman had seen a fiery explosion.
A person who Reuters recognized as a local government official, instructed CNN Indonesia that he and others had found debris after hearing about two explosions and heading out to seek for remnants with an anchor within the water. The person, named Surachman, stated they found gadgets like cables, seats, pockets, items of hair, and denim.
Tv footage confirmed family and friends of individuals aboard the airplane weeping, praying, and hugging one another as they waited at the airports in Jakarta and Pontianak.
In response to the BBC, the Boeing 737 jet is just not a Max, the airplane that has been concerned in a pair of major crashes. The South China Morning Post reported that the missing Sriwijaya Air airplane is about 26 years old.
Sriwijaya Air is one of Indonesia’s low-cost carriers, flying to dozens of domestic and international locations.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
