Indonesia's Lion Air Flight crash: All 188 passenger 'likely' dead, say rescue officials

Jakarta, Oct 29: Lion Air passenger flight from the capital Jakarta to the city of Pangkal Pinang off the island of Sumatra has crashed into the sea, Indonesia's search and rescue agency said on Monday. Spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the aircraft, on a 1 hour and 10 minute flight to Pangkal Pinang on an island chain off Sumatra, was carrying 189 passengers, including one child and two babies, and eight crew members.

Indonesia search and rescue says 'likely' all 189 aboard crashed Lion Air jet dead, reports AFP news agency. Suneja who hailed from Delhi, according to his LinkedIn profile was employed with Lion Air since 2011 and had accumulated more than 6,000 flying hours, says an official statement from Lion Air. He initially was a trainee with Emirates for three months and currently resided in Jakarta with his wife.

Belasungkawa kami yg terdalam atas kecelakaan tragis pesawat Lion Air di lepas pantai Jakarta hari ini. Sangat disayangkan bahwa Pilot India Bhavye Suneja yang menerbangkan JT610 juga kehilangan nyawanya...Kedutaan berhubungan dengan Crisis Center dan mengkoordinir semua bantuan pic.twitter.com/02cjDsnWNv

— India in Indonesia (@IndianEmbJkt) October 29, 2018

An agency official estimated there would be no survivors from the Lion Air plane that crashed into the sea north of Java Island on Monday. "We need to find the main wreckage," Bambang Suryo, operational director of the agency, told reporters. "I predict there are no survivors, based on body parts found so far.''

Indian embassy in Jakarta confirms death of Indian pilot Bhavye Suneja in Lion Air plane crash, reports PTI.

Lion Air said the brand-new aircraft. In a statement, the privately owned airline said the aircraft, which had only been operated since August, was airworthy, with its pilot and co-pilot together having accumulated 11,000 hours of flying time.

"It has been confirmed that it has crashed," Yusuf Latif, a spokesman for the agency, said.

The Lion Air flight JT-610 took off from the Jakarta airport at 6.20am local time and lost contact at 6.33am. The Boeing 737 was orginally scheduled to arrive at Pangkal Pinang at 7.20am.

The plane was packed with passengers, officials confirmed at a press conference cited by BBC. 178 adults, one infant and two babies were on board. The crew included two pilots and five flight attendants

Debris of the plane, including seats, have been found floating in the Java sea near the facility belonging to Indonesia's state oil firm Pertamina, a company official told Reuters.

First images and videos purportedly showing debris of the crashed aircraft scattered in the sea appeared on social media.

Lion Air #Jt610 indeed has crashed into the sea, no signs of survivors. Pray for there well being pic.twitter.com/4YOAmq4YxZ

— मै योगी (@sadharan_indian) October 29, 2018

Innalillahiwainnailahi roji’un. Semoga para korban LION AIR JT-610 tujuan Jakarta-Pangkal pinang dapat ditemukan dan kluarga diberikan ketabahan 🙏🏿🙏🏿 pic.twitter.com/jWW23kRuuI

— Afrianti Franiti Ad (@Afriantifraniti) October 29, 2018

Some debris from #JT610 that reported has crashed this morning. pic.twitter.com/sWRSdGgG8n

— Taz Imansyah (@KaitouTaz) October 29, 2018

The plane involved was a Boeing Co 737 Max-8 model. It wasn't clear how many passengers and crew were on board.

The crash was first reported by Reuters citing an Indonesian search and rescue official. The plane is believed to have been on the way from Indonesian capital Jakarta to the city of Pangkal Pinang.

Lion Air has confirmed the plane lost contact with air traffic control early Monday morning, but has not yet confirmed it has crashed.

Lion Air JT610Hilang https://t.co/69sT9N873k pic.twitter.com/0x2WEfSUO7

— IndoAviation (@IndoAviation) October 29, 2018

The Straits Times reported that the Indonesian authorities have mounted a search and rescue operation for the missing Lion Air plane, which lost contact with air traffic controllers at 6.33 am today.

The aircraft is reportedly a Boeing-737 Max 8, capable of seating up to 210 passengers.