Jakarta, January 9: A Sriwijaya Air passenger jet went off the radar on Saturday shortly after taking off from Indonesia's capital Jakarta. Search and rescue operations are currently underway. Rescuers claimed that suspected debris of the plane had been found. The flight, Sriwijaya Air's SJY 182 took off from Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport and was scheduled to land at Pontianak in West Kalimantan region. Indonesia's Sriwijaya Air Flight SJY 182, a Boeing 737-500 Plane, Loses Contact Minutes After Departure From Jakarta.

The suspected debris of the plane was found in the sea off the city, reported global news agency Reuters quoting the rescuers as saying. Indonesian Transportation Ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati said the Boeing 737-500 took off from Jakarta at about 1:56 pm and lost contact with the control tower at 2:40 pm. Indonesia: Sriwijaya Air Passenger Jet Carrying 56 Passengers and 6 Crew Members Goes Missing on Domestic Flight.

There were 62 people on board, including six crew members the Sriwijaya Air passenger jet went it lost contact. Out of the 56 passengers, 10 were reported to be children. The plane was of Boeing 737-500 module. According to flight tracker website FlightRadar24, the plane lost more than 10,000 feet of altitude in less than a minute.

In October 2018, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet operated by Lion Air plunged into the Java Sea just minutes after taking off from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. It was the worst airline disaster in Indonesia since 1997.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 09, 2021 07:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).