Indonesia: A Lion Air plane with 189 passengers aboard crashes off Jakarta

A Lion Air plane carrying 189 people crashed into the sea barely a few minutes after taking off from the Indonesian capital on Monday, striking hard on the country's record of air safety after lifting the bans on its flights. airlines by the European Union and the United States.

The Indonesian Agency for Disaster Operations posted photos of a crashed smartphone, books, bags and aircraft fuselage parts that had been picked up by research vessels safety.

Lion Air announced that the all-new aircraft was performing 181 flights, including a child, two babies and eight crew members, bound for Pangkal Pinang, off an island off Sumatra.

Indonesian television broadcast footage of a fuel and debris field. Distraught friends and relatives prayed and intertwined as they waited at Pangkal Pinang Airport.

Deputy Chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency, Nugroho Budi Wiryanto, said some 300 people, including soldiers, policemen and local fishermen, were involved in the search and that he had not yet. 39 found here no body – only ID cards, personal effects and aircraft debris.

"We are waiting for the miracle of God," Wiryanto said to the question of whether there was hope for the survivors.

At the agency's headquarters in Jakarta, family members came hoping to hear news.

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

"We are here to find information about my younger sister, her fiancé, her future brother and one of their friends," said Feni.

"We have no information," she said, as her father wiped the red-eyed tears. "No one has provided us with the information we need. "We are confused, we hope our family is still alive," she said.

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani also arrived at the agency and met with his boss, seeking information on 20 Ministry of Finance staff members who were in flight after attending a ministerial event in Jakarta.

The search and rescue agency announced that the flight had ended off West Java, from a depth of 30 to 35 meters.

The head of the agency, Muhammad Syaugi, said at a press conference that divers were trying to locate the wreckage.

The weather for the flight was safe, according to the Indonesian meteorological agency. He said the cloud type badociated with turbulence was not present and the winds were weak.

The Boeing 737 Max 8 was delivered to Lion Air in mid-August and put into service in a matter of days, according to the Flightradar24 aviation website. Malindo Air, a Malaysian subsidiary of Lion Air, based in Jakarta, was the first company to use the 737 Max 8 last year. The Max 8 has replaced the similar 800 in the product line of the Chicago Planemaker.

Lion Air President and CEO Edward Sirait said the plane had a "technical problem" during his previous flight between Bali and Jakarta, but that the problem was completely solved. He did not know the details of the problem when he was asked in a TV interview. The pilot on 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 accident and was ready to provide technical badistance for the investigation of the accident, which will be conducted by Indonesian investigators.

In his statement, the Chicago-based builder expressed concern for the 189 people on board and offered "his heartfelt condolences to their families and loved ones."

The Indonesian Ministry of Transport said the plane took off from Jakarta around 6:20 am and crashed 13 minutes later. FlightAware's data showed that it had reached an altitude of only 1,500 meters (5,200 feet).

The Ministry of Transport said that crisis centers had been set up at Pangkal Pinang Airport and Soekarno Hatta Airport in Jakarta.

This accident is the worst air disaster in Indonesia since the departure of an AirAsia flight connecting Singapore to Singapore in December 2014, leaving 162 dead on board.

In 2007, Indonesian airlines banned from flying to Europe for security reasons, but several were allowed to return to service in the next decade. The ban was completely lifted in June of this year. The United States lifted the decadelong ban in 2016.

Lion Air, a discount carrier, is one of Indonesia's youngest and largest airlines serving dozens of domestic and international destinations.

In 2013, one of his Boeing 737-800 missed the runway by landing on the island of Bali, where he crashed into the sea without killing any of the 108 people on board .