Missing Sriwijaya air plane feared crashed after leaving Jakarta
A member of the rescue team looking for an Indonesian plane that lost contact after taking off from the capital Jakarta holds suspected debris, at sea, January 9, 2021, in this picture obtained from social media. - INSTAGRAM @HUMASJAKFIRE/via REUTERS
JAKARTA:A Sriwijaya Air plane reported missing shortly after taking off from Soekarno Hatta Airport, Jakarta en route to Pontianak, earlier today, is feared to have crashed in the waters of the Seribu (Thousand) Islands, Jakarta.
Metro Jaya (Jakarta) police chief Yusri Yunus was quoted by local media as saying that there was preliminary information from fishermen in the area who claimed that the plane crashed in the waters.
According to a local television report, which broadcast a video recorded by the fishermen, it showed they (fishermen) found some small debris floating in the waters.
"Currently, the search and rescue (SAR) operation involving various agencies has been deployed to the location," said Yusri.
As of 7 pm (West Indonesia time), there has been no official statement from the Ministry of Transport or Sriwijaya Air airline, regarding the fishermen's allegation that the plane is believed to have crashed in the waters.
The Boeing 737-500 aircraft, carrying 62 passengers including five crew members, was reported to have lost contact with the control tower shortly after departure at 2.36 pm (West Indonesia time).
The aircraft's last contact with the control tower was at 2.40 pm and it was scheduled to arrive in Pontianak, at 4.15 pm (West Indonesia time).
-- BERNAMA
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