Sriwijaya Air plane loses contact shortly after takeoff, rescue ops started

New Delhi: A Sriwijaya Air plane lost contact shortly after takeoff from the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Saturday, DW reported citing local media. Flight tracking showed the flight path of flight SJ182 ending off the coast just north of Jakarta after losing altitude.

The plane was a Boeing 737-500, reported Indonesian news outlet Sindonews. The flight was carrying 59 passengers, including six children, reported Indonesian newspaper Republika.

A Sriwijaya Air plane lost contact after taking off from Indonesia's Jakarta en route to Pontianak, West Kalimantan province. Sriwijaya Air said in a statement, it is still gathering more detailed information regarding the flight before it can make any statement: Reuters

— ANI (@ANI) January 9, 2021

The plane took off from Soekarno-Hatta Airport. It was heading to Pontianak, the provincial capital of West Kalimantan. The plane lost more than 10,000 feet of altitude in less than a minute, reported flight tracker website FlightRadar24.

We’re receiving videos and images transferred by the the rescue team #SJ182 https://t.co/gjxIxEX22N pic.twitter.com/Z25P4dfZOt

— AIRLIVE (@airlivenet) January 9, 2021