Indonesian passenger plane crashed into sea with 189 on board, plane wreckage found
A passenger plane of Indonesia, The Lion Air Boeing 737, with 189 people on board crashed into sea on Monday morning just 13 minutes after takeoff from the Soekarno Hatta international airport. The flight JT610 was bound for Pangkal Pinang.
A spokesperson of Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (SAR), Yusuf Latif told AFP, “The plane crashed into water about 30 to 40 meters deep. We’re still searching for the remains of the plane”. According to the officials there were one child and two babies among the passengers in the crashed plane.
The spokesperson added, “The plane had requested to return to base before finally disappearing from the radar”.
#LionAir flight, with 189 on board, crashes into Indonesian seas: Relatives of passengers pray while waiting for information about their loved ones
Follow #Indonesia plane crash LIVE: https://t.co/0cPlMiIRJN pic.twitter.com/q9Iekdb3oD
— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) October 29, 2018
The head of SAR, Muhmmad Syaugi said that wreckage of crashed plane were found near where the plane lost contact with radar, but did not confirm if there are any survivors. He said, “Don’t know yet whether there are any survivors. We hope, we pray, but we cannot confirm”.
Official of Indonesia’s safety transport committee said that the cause of crash will be clear only when the black box of the plane is recovered. Soerjanto Tjahjono said, “We will collect all data from the control tower. The plane is so modern, it transmits data from the plane and that we will review too. But the most important is the blackbox”.
The plane was at a height of 3000 meters when it lost contact with radar on ground. SAR has dispatched a team of boats, helicopters and 180 rescuers to the crash site.
