Passenger plane crashes shortly after take off from Indonesia with 189 people on board

It’s believed that there are no survivors following a passenger plane crash near the Indonesian capital of Jakarta

Lion Air flight 610 (JT610) took off from Jakarta at 23:21 UTC and was destined for Pangkal Pinang, around an hour away.

We're following reports that contact has been lost with Lion Air flight #JT610 shortly after takeoff from Jakarta.

ADS-B data from the flight is available at https://t.co/zNM33cM0na pic.twitter.com/NIU7iuCcFu

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) October 29, 2018

Just a couple minutes into the flight, pilots made a “return to base” request.

It was granted, but the plane never made it back to the airport as it crashed into the sea about 10 minutes later.

A short time later, debris started to turn up in the Java Sea and a massive search and rescue effort began.

A spokesman for Indonesian’s Disaster Management Agency, Sutopo Purwo Negroho, posted videos to Twitter of debris and personal belongings that were discovered floating in the water.

Serpihan pesawat Lion Air JT 610 yang jatuh di perairan Karawang. Beberapa kapal tug boad membantu menangani evakuasi. Video diambil petugas tug boad yang ada di perairan Karawang. pic.twitter.com/4GhKcRYkpG

— Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_PN) October 29, 2018

Boeing, the manufacturer of the plane, has also confirmed that the wreckage of the plane has been found.

“The Boeing Company is deeply saddened by the loss of Flight JT 610,” said a statement from the company. “We express our concern for those on board, and extend heartfelt sympathies to their families and loved ones.”

The Associated Press reports that the flight was carrying 181 passengers and eight crews members.

Jatuhnya pesawat Lion Air JT 610 di dekat fasilitas Anak usaha PT Pertamina (Persero), Pertamina Hulu Energi Offshore North West Java (PHE ONWJ) di lepas pantai di utara Bekasi, Jawa Barat. Petugas PHE ONWJ melakukan evakuasi dan mengambil dokumentasi. pic.twitter.com/Xq0kQjAWe8

— Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_PN) October 29, 2018

Only a pair of people on board were from outside of Indonesia, including one of the pilots, originally from New Delhi, and an Italian citizen.

A statement from Lion Air said that dozens of families of potential victims had already arrived at Jakarta’s airport and are being accommodated by the airline in the wake of this disaster.

NowMedia will update this story as more information is made available.