A Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-524 (WL), performing flight SJY182, disappeared from radar about 4 minutes after takeoff from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport (CGK/WIII) and crashed in the sea.
The are 2 pilotes, 4 cabin crew members and 59 passengers on board.
A statement released by the budget airline said the Boeing 737-500 was on an estimated 90-minute flight from Jakarta to Pontianak, 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.
A source at the airport told Al Jazeera 46 adults, seven children and three infants were on board along with six crew members. Boarding was delayed because of heavy rain.
A sea and air search and rescue operation, including 11 Indonesian Navy ships, is underway and will continue throughout the night.
“We deployed our team, boats and sea riders to the location suspected to be where it went down after losing contact,” Bambang Suryo Aji, a senior official at the country’s national search and rescue agency, told AFP.
Tracking showed the path of flight SJ182 ending off the coast just north of Jakarta after losing altitude.
There are no official confirmations of a crash.
The Regent of the Thousand Islands chain said he had information that “something fell and exploded on Laki island,” in comments to Indonesian newspaper Merdeka.
Previously, the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Branch Communications Manager Haerul Anwar said that the Sriwijaya Air plane had lost contact around Lancang Island — part of the Thousand Islands chain.
Unconfirmed images of small debris fished from the water were broadcast by local media.
“We found some cables, a piece of jeans, and pieces of metal on the water,” CNN Indonesia quoted security official Zulkifli as saying.
A patrol boat from the Ministry of Transportation found possible human body parts and oil near to the reported site of a crash, reported local news outlet Kompas.
Sriwijaya Air, an Indonesian airline, said in a statement it is still gathering more detailed information regarding the flight before it can make a fuller statement.
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.”
