A Sriwijaya Air passenger jet carrying 62 people lost contact with air traffic controllers after taking off from Indonesia’s capital on a domestic flight, officials said.
The plane was on an estimated 90-minute flight from Jakarta to Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan province on Indonesia’s Borneo island. There were 56 passengers and six crew members onboard. The Boeing 737-500 took off from Jakarta at about 1:56 p.m. and lost contact with the control tower at 2:40 p.m.
Local media reports said fishermen spotted metal objects believed to be parts of a plane in the Thousand Islands, a chain of islands north of Jakarta. Search and rescue operation was underway in coordination with the National Search and Rescue Agency and the National Transportation Safety Committee.