Indonesian Plane Declared Missing After Take-off
An Indonesian Boeing 737-500 plane with 50 people on board has been declared missing minutes after take-off.
The Sriwijaya Air flight lost contact after taking off from Indonesian capital Jakarta on Saturday.
It was on its way to Pontianak in West Kalimantan province. Pontianak is a city on the island of Borneo, part of the Indonesian archipelago.
Sriwijaya Air said it was still gathering more detailed information regarding the flight before it can make any statement.
According to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, the aircraft appeared to have plunged 10,000 feet in less than a minute about four minutes after takeoff.
The aircraft’s last contact was at 2.40pm, and authorities have started search and rescue operations for the missing plane, according to Adita Irawati, a spokeswoman for the transport ministry.
