Passenger plane crashes near Indonesia shortly after taking off from Jakarta 

Boeing 737 passenger plane crashes near Indonesia shortly after taking off from Jakarta

  • Lion Air flight  JT-610 crashed near Indonesia shortly after take-off from Jakarta
  • It is not clear how many were on board the domestic flight to Pangkal Pinang 
  • The Boeing 737 Max 8 has the capability to carry as many as 210 passengers

A passenger plane has crashed near Indonesia shortly after taking off from Jakarta.

The Lion Air aircraft crashed about 13 minutes after taking off for Indonesia. It is not clear how many people were on board. 

The domestic flight was heading to Pangkal Pinang, an island north of Indonesia’s capital. 

The Lion Air aircraft crashed about 13 minutes after taking off for Indonesia. It is not clear how many people were on board (file picture)

Lion Air’s flight JT-610 lost contact with air traffic control at about 6.33am local time (10.33am AEDT, 11.33pm BST).

Indonesia’s search and rescue agency confirmed the plane had crashed.   

‘It has been confirmed that it has crashed,’ Yusuf Latif, a spokesman for the agency, said by text message, when asked about the fate of the Lion Air plane.

The jet was a Boeing 737 MAX 8, according to air tracking service Flightradar 24, which can carry as many as 210 passengers.

Data from the Flight Radar website showed the plane took off before it stopped transmitting north east of Jakarta

Data from the Flight Radar website showed the plane took off before it stopped transmitting north east of Jakarta

‘We cannot give any comment at this moment, said Edward Sirait, chief executive of Lion Air Group. ‘We are trying to collect all the information and data.’ 

Lion Air is one of Indonesia’s youngest and biggest airlines, flying to dozens of domestic and international destinations.

In 2013, one of its Boeing 737-800 jets missed the runway while landing on the resort island of Bali, crashing into the sea without causing any fatalities among the 108 people on board.

 

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