189 feared dead in Jakarta crash

Lion Air plane plunged into sea after take off; human remains found

Jakarta, Oct. 29: An Indonesian aircraft with 189 people on board crashed into the sea on Monday as it tried to circle back to the capital, Jakarta, from where it had taken off minutes earlier, and there were likely no survivors, officials said

Lion Air flight JT610, an almost new Boeing 737 MAX 8, was en route to Pangkal Pinang, capital of the BangkaBelitung tin mining region. Rescue officials said they had recovered some human remains from the crash site, about 15 km ( 9 miles) off the coast.

Websites that display flight data showed the plane speeding up as it suddenly lost altitude in the minutes before it disappeared, with authorities saying witnesses saw the jet plunge into the water.

“My prediction is that nobody survived because the victims that we found, their bodies were no longer intact and it’s been hours so it is likely 189 people have died,” search and rescue agency operational director Bambang Suryo Aji told reporters.

Some 40 divers are part of about 150 personnel at the scene, authorities said, with the plane wreckage some 30 to 40 metres deep in the water.

Earlier, video footage apparently filmed at the scene of the crash showed a slick of fuel on the surface of the water and pictures showed what appeared to be an emergency slide and bits of wreckage bearing Lion Air’s logo. The carrier acknowledged that the jet had previously been grounded for unspecified repairs. “It’s a really mystery what could have happened,” said Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor of industry publication Flightglobal. “Hopefully they will be able to locate the ( cockpit) voice data

◗ 178 adults, one child, two infants, two pilots and six cabin crew were on board JT610, which had gone into service only in August

recorders.” The plane had been en route to Pangkal Pinang city, a jumping off point for beach- and- sun seeking tourists on nearby Belitung island, when it dropped out of contact around 6.30 am ( 2330 GMT). One Italian national was aboard the plane which was flown by an Indian pilot, the transportation ministry said.

Images filmed at Pangkal Pinang’s main airport showed families of passengers crying and hugging each other, with some calling out to god. “This morning he called asking about our youngest son,” said a sobbing Ermayati, referring to her 45- year- old husband Muhammed Syafii, who was on board. At Jakarta’s main airport, Zainal Abidin waited desperately for news about his daughter. “If my daughter is dead, I just wish she’ll be buried properly,” the 63- year- old said.

Indonesia’s NTSC said there were 178 adult passengers, one child, two infants, two pilots and six cabin crew on board flight JT 610. About 20 finance ministry employees were on the plane, including half a dozen colleagues of Sony Setiawan who missed check in for a flight he took weekly due to bad traffic. “I know my friends were on that flight,” he told AFP. Mr Setiawan said he was only informed about his lucky escape after he arrived in Pangkal Pinang on another flight. “My family was in shock and my mother cried, but I told them I was safe, so I just have to be grateful.” Lion Air said the plane had only gone into service in August.

The pilot and co- pilot had more than 11,000 hours of flying time between them and had recent medical checkups and drug testing, it added. Lion Air chief Edward Sirait said the plane had an unspecified technical issue fixed in Bali before it was flown back to Jakarta.