A passenger jet carrying 62 people has lost contact with air traffic controllers after taking off in Indonesia
A search and rescue operation is under way in after contact was lost with the Boeing 737-500 plane on a local flight from the capital Jakarta.
An Indonesian Transport Ministry spokesman said the Sriwijaya Air flight SJ 182, which was travelling to Pontianak City in West Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo, last made contact at 2.40pm local time (7.40am in Ireland).
Tracking service Flightradar24 said on Twitter that the flight "lost more than 10,000ft of altitude in less than one minute" about four minutes after departure.
Some 56 passengers and six crew members were on board.
Suspected debris has been located in waters north of Jakarta, an official from the Basarnas rescue agency told Reuters, although it has not been confirmed that it is from the missing plane.
In its latest statement, the airline said it was still gathering information on the incident.
"Sriwijaya Air is still in contact with various related parties to get more detailed information regarding the SJ-182 flight from Jakarta to Pontianak," the company said.
"Management is still communicating and investigating this matter and will immediately issue an official statement after obtaining the actual information."
Indonesian Transportation Ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati said: "The missing plane is currently under investigation and under co-ordination with the National Search and Rescue Agency and the National Transportation Safety Committee."
The missing plane is not a Boeing 737 Max, the model involved in two major crashes in recent years - the first of which involved a crash in Indonesia.
Reporting by IRN
