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Monday, October 29, 2018, 17:39
Indonesia Lion Air flight with 189 on board crashes into sea
By Associated Press
Monday, October 29, 2018, 17:39 By Associated Press

An AFP graphic showing the tracked flight-path of the Lion Air JT 610 that crashed shortly after take-off on Oct 29, 2018.

KARAWANG, Indonesia — A Lion Air plane carrying 189 people crashed into the sea just minutes after taking off from Indonesia's capital on Monday in a blow to the country's aviation safety record after the lifting of bans on its airlines by the European Union and US.

Indonesia's disaster agency posted photos online of a crushed smartphone, books, bags and parts of the aircraft fuselage that had been collected by search and rescue vessels.

In this photo released by Indonesian Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) rescuers inspect debris believed to be from a Lion Air passenger jet that crashed off West Java on Oct 29, 2018. (BNPB VIA AP)

By Monday afternoon, a rescue official said parts of human bodies have been discovered in the waters off Indonesia's West Java province. 

"Several parts of human bodies and things have been found on the scene," Yusuf Latief, head of communication for media of the national search and rescue office, said. 

As many as 30 divers were trying to reach the main wreckage of the Boeing 737 Max 8 plane, according to the agency. 

The chief rescuer could not give a specific number of the retrieved bodies.

President Joko Widodo ordered the transport safety commission to investigate and urged Indonesians to "keep on praying" as rescuers search for victims. A transport official said the flight requested to return shortly after takeoff from Jakarta. Weather conditions were normal but the brand new aircraft had experienced a technical issue on its previous flight.

Lion Air said the brand-new aircraft, on a 1-hour-and-10-minute flight to Pangkal Pinang on an island chain off Sumatra, was carrying 181 passengers, including one child and two babies, and eight crew members.

Distraught friends and relatives prayed and hugged each other as they waited at Pangkal Pinang's airport. Indonesian TV broadcast pictures of a fuel slick and debris field in the ocean.

A relative of passengers prays as she and others wait for news on a Lion Air plane that crashed off Java Island at Depati Amir Airport in Pangkal Pinang, Indonesia Oct 29, 2018. (HADI SUTRISNO / AP)

The National Search and Rescue Agency's deputy chief, Nugroho Budi Wiryanto, said some 300 people including soldiers, police and local fishermen are involved in the search and that so far it has recovered no bodies — only ID cards, personal belongings and aircraft debris.

"We are waiting for the miracle from God," said Wiryanto, when asked if there's any hope of survivors.

At the agency's headquarters in Jakarta, family members turned up, hoping desperately for news.

Feni, who uses a single name, said her soon to be married sister was on the flight, planning to meet relatives in Pangkal Pinang.

"We are here to find any information about my younger sister, her fiance, her in-law to be and a friend of them," said Feni.

"We don't have any information," she said, as her father wiped tears from reddened eyes. "No one provided us with any information that we need. "We're confused. We hope that our family is still alive," she said.

In this photo released by Indonesian Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) rescuers inspect debris believed to be from Lion Air passenger jet that crashed off West Java on Monday, Oct 29, 2018. (BNPB VIA AP)

Indonesia's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani also arrived at the agency and met with its chief, seeking information about 20 finance ministry staff who were on the flight after attending a ministry event in Jakarta.

The search and rescue agency said the flight ended in waters off West Java that are 30 to 35 meters deep.

The agency's chief Muhammad Syaugi told a news conference that divers are trying to locate the wreckage.

Weather conditions for the flight were safe, according to the Indonesian meteorology agency. It said the type of clouds associated with turbulence was not present and winds were weak.

The Boeing 737 Max 8 was delivered to Lion Air in mid-August and put in use within days, according to aviation website Flightradar24. 

Malindo Air, a Malaysian subsidiary of Jakarta-based Lion Air, was the first airline to being using the 737 Max 8 last year. The Max 8 replaced the similar 800 in the Chicago-based planemaker's product line.

In this May 12, 2012 file photo, a Lion Air passenger jet is parked on the tarmac at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Indonesia. (TRISNADI / AP)

Lion Air's president-director Edward Sirait said the plane had a "technical problem" on its previous flight from Bali to Jakarta but it had been fully remedied. He didn't know specifics of the problem when asked in a TV interview. The pilot of Flight 610 had more than 6,000 flying hours while the co-pilot had more than 5,000 hours, according to the airline.

Boeing Co. said it was "deeply saddened" by the crash and was prepared to provide technical assistance into the crash probe, which will be carried out by Indonesian investigators.

In its statement, the Chicago-based manufacturer expressed its concern for the 189 people onboard, and offered "heartfelt sympathies to their families and loved ones."

Indonesia's Transport Ministry said the plane took off from Jakarta about 6.20 a.m. and crashed just 13 minutes later. Data from FlightAware showed it had reached an altitude of only 1,580 meters.

The transport ministry said crisis centers have been set up Pangkal Pinang's airport and Jakarta's Soekarno Hatta airport.

The crash is the worst airline disaster in Indonesia since an AirAsia flight from Surabaya to Singapore plunged into the sea in December 2014, killing all 162 on board.

Indonesian airlines were barred in 2007 were flying to Europe because of safety concerns, though several were allowed to resume services in the following decade. The ban was completely lifted in June this year. The US lifted a decadelong ban in 2016.

Lion Air, a discount carrier, 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.

ALSO READ: Indonesia plane crash toll rises to 141

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