Indonesia\'s Lion Air Flight JT-610 carrying 180 passenger crashes into sea

Indonesia's Lion Air Flight JT-610 carrying 180 passenger crashes into sea

Jakarta, Oct 29: Lion Air passenger flight from the capital Jakarta to the city of Pangkal Pinang off the island of Sumatra has crashed into the sea, Indonesia's search and rescue agency said on Monday.

"It has been confirmed that it has crashed," Yusuf Latif, a spokesman for the agency, said.

The Lion Air flight JT-610 took off from the Jakarta airport at 6.20am local time and lost contact at 6.33am. The Boeing 737 was orginally scheduled to arrive at Pangkal Pinang at 7.20am.

The plane involved was a Boeing Co 737 Max-8 model. It wasn't clear how many passengers and crew were on board.

The crash was first reported by Reuters citing an Indonesian search and rescue official. The plane is believed to have been on the way from Indonesian capital Jakarta to the city of Pangkal Pinang.

Lion Air has confirmed the plane lost contact with air traffic control early Monday morning, but has not yet confirmed it has crashed.

The Straits Times reported that the Indonesian authorities have mounted a search and rescue operation for the missing Lion Air plane, which lost contact with air traffic controllers at 6.33 am today.

The aircraft is reportedly a Boeing-737 Max 8, capable of seating up to 210 passengers.