Latest on Indonesian Lion Air plane crash

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00:35

An Indonesian Lion Air flight with 189 people aboard crashed on Monday morning shortly after taking off on a flight from the capital Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang. Here's what we know so far:

Updated at 17:30 p.m. BJT on Tuesday

The Lion Air plane had an airspeed problem on its previous flight, according to Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee.

"There were technical issues, one of them was indeed
unreliable airspeed," committee deputy chief Haryo Satmiko said at a news conference on Tuesday, referring to the problems with the plane on a flight from Denpasar, Bali, to Jakarta on Sunday evening.

Updated at 9:40 a.m. BJT on Tuesday

Indonesian rescuers have retrieved 24 bags of body parts after the plane crashed into the sea, reported Xinhua.

Divers have been in the water all night searching for the fuselage and remaining victims.

So far, search and rescue workers have only found body parts.

Updated at 8:15 p.m. BJT

All 189 passengers and crew aboard the crashed Indonesian Lion Air jet may have been killed in the incident, the Indonesian search and rescue agency said on Monday, as it announced it had found human remains.

00:53

An Indonesian man has described how Jakarta's notorious traffic inadvertently saved his life on Monday after he arrived too late to catch the doomed Lion Air plane.

Update at 5:30 p.m. BJT

Six bodies from the plane crash have been found so far, Sputnik reported, citing a spokesman for Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS).

"Six dead from the Lion Air Boeing 737 crash have arrived at Tanjung Priok harbor," the unnamed spokesperson told the Russian media.

The Chinese embassy in Indonesia has confirmed that no Chinese nationals were on board.

Updated at 5:00 p.m. BJT

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang expressed condolences and sympathy for those involved in the plane crash, saying the Chinese side will watch the situation closely and offer assistance if necessary.

The authorities have not yet revealed the identities of those on board.

Lu said the Chinese embassy is currently working with Indonesia to see if there are any Chinese nationals.

Indonesia Lion Air director said that one Italian passenger and one Indian pilot were on the plane.

Local media Jakarta Post newspaper reported 20 officials from Indonesia's public assets service (KPKNL) and the treasury (KPPN) were passengers of the Lion Airplane.

Family members of the crashed Indonesian Lion Air JT610 at Pangkal Pinang airport, in Bangka Belitung province, October 29, 2018. /VCG Photo

Updated at 3:50 p.m. BJT

The body of one victim from the plane crash has been recovered by rescuers at the crash site in the waters off Karawang, West Java, according to local media.

“Based on the data and information we have received, only one victim has been found so far,” Adi Wahadi, a member of the Karawang Water Police, told local media Kompas.

But still, no survivors have been found so far.

Xinhua News Agency said body parts from several of the passengers have also been discovered at the site by the search team.

"Several human body parts and things have been found on the scene," Yusuf Latief, the head of media communication for the national search and rescue office, told Xinhua News Agency.

Following the incident, Boeing also issued a statement, saying it will provide technical assistance to the investigation.

Updated at 2:25 p.m. BJT

The crashed plane had a technical problem in a previous flight, but it was resolved according to a standing procedure, Lion Air's CEO said, declining to specify the nature of the technical issue.

He said the airline operates 11 aircraft of the same model - the Boeing 737 Max 8 - and the other planes do not have the same technical problem.

The National Search And Rescue Agency of Indonesia (BASARNAS) found a piece of wreckage from Lion Air flight JT 610. /VCG Photo

Updated at 1:20 p.m. BJT

Preliminary flight tracking data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft climbed to around 1,524 meters before losing, and then regaining, altitude, before finally falling towards the sea.

It was last recorded at 1,113 meters, according to raw data captured by the respected tracking website, which could not immediately be confirmed.

Its last recorded position was about 15 kilometers north of the Indonesian coastline, according to a Google Maps reference of the last coordinates reported by Flightradar24.

The incident is the first to be reported that involves the widely-sold Boeing 737 MAX, an updated, more fuel-efficient version of the manufacturer's workhorse single-aisle jet.

The site says the 737 Max 8 plane was registered as PK-LQP and was delivered to the airline in August.

Manufacturer Boeing is aware of the airplane incident reports and is "closely monitoring" the situation.

CGTN Photo

Updated at 12:50 p.m. BJT

The plane carried 189 people, 181 of whom were passengers, spokesman of the Transport Ministry Bambang Ervan said.

The plane requested to return to base shortly before losing contact, said Yohanes Sirait, a spokesperson for Indonesian air navigation authorities.

Lion Air Group said in a statement that the plane was airworthy. Its pilot and co-pilot had together amassed 11,000 hours of flying time.

Updated at 11:30 a.m. BJT

Members of a rescue team prepare to search for survivors from the Lion Air flight JT 610, which crashed into the sea, at Jakarta seaport, October 29, 2018./ VCG Photo

The Lion Air flight JT610 crashed into the sea off Indonesia's island of Java on Monday, shortly after takeoff from the capital Jakarta, Indonesia's search and rescue agency said.

A search and rescue operation is reportedly underway.

Local media reported that wreckage of the flight and some personal items from passengers were found at the Java Sea.

Updated at 11:00 a.m. BJT

"It has been confirmed that it has crashed," Yusuf Latif, a spokesman for the Indonesian rescue agency said, adding that the plane crashed into the sea.

The plane took off from the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 6:20 a.m. local time and was scheduled to arrive in Pangkal Pinang, on the Island of Bangka, at around 7:20 a.m. local time.

Updated at 10:37 a.m. BJT

The Lion Air JT 610 lost contact 13 minutes after takeoff, according to the official.

The plane is a Boeing 737 MAX 8 and is capable of seating up to 210 passengers, but it was not immediately clear how many people were on board.

The cause of the crash remains unknown and so far there have been no reports on the number of casualties.

(With inputs from Xinhua, Reuters)

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