60 FEARED KILLED AS PLANE PLUNGES 10,000FT INTO SEA
Navy sends ships after debris is found in ocean
Tom Davidson
A Boeing 737 passenger plane is believed to have crashed into the sea after disappearing from radar and plunging 10,000ft.
The Sriwijaya Air jet lost contact after taking off from Indonesian capital Jakarta yesterday en route to Pontianak in West Kalimantan province.
It had more than 60 people on board – including 10 children.
The Indonesian navy has worked out the last known coordinates of the missing jet and ships were being sent to the area.
A rescue agency conf irmed that suspected debris of the flight had been found.
Photos show rescue workers pulling debris from the water in a desperate search for survivors. No radio beacon signal had been detected, the agency said.
Residents of Thousand Island said they heard two explosions before finding items in the sea.
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 and a search was under way.
The plane is not a 737 Max, the Boeing model involved in two major crashes in recent years.
According to AirLive.net, there were 62 people on board – 56 passengers, four crew members and two pilots.
The nationalities of those on board have not been disclosed.
Av i a t ion monitor ing ser v ice Flightradar24 tweeted: “Sriwijaya Air flight #SJ182 lost more than 10,000ft of altitude in less than one minute, about four minutes after departure from Jakarta.”
Sriwijayaya Air chief executive
Jefferson Irwin Jauwena told reporters that the aircraft was in good condition and had been delayed for 30 minutes ahead of takeoff because of heavy rain.
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”.
According to CNBC Indonesia, the f light vanished at 2.40pm local time, moments after taking off from Soekarno-Hatta airport.
The Sriwijaya A i r plane lost contact around Lancang Island, Thousand Islands, the manager of branch communication and legal at Soekarno- Hatta Airport, Haerul Anwar, said.
Video images from the airport showed pictures of relatives of the passengers in tears as they awaited news of the fate of the aircraft.
The Indonesian Red Cross Society say they have 50 volunteers on standby to helpp with recoveryy efforts.