A Boeing 737 with 62 people on board has gone missing near Jakarta

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Witnesses have reported at least one explosion, and objects thought to be from the plane have been found on the ground

A passenger plane with an estimated 62 people on board has gone missing near Jakarta. The Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737 took off from the Indonesian capital and was en route to Pontianak in West Kalimantan province when it lost contact. According to real-time air traffic tracking website Flightradar24, the plane descended 3,000m (10,000ft) in altitude in less than a minute.

This is what we know about Sriwijaya Air flight #SJ182 based on ADS-B data.
Route: Jakarta to Pontianak Callsign: SJY182 Aircraft: Boeing 737-500, PK-CLC Take off: 07:36 UTC Highest altitude: 10,900 feet Last altitude: 250 feet Signal lost: 07:40 UTChttps://t.co/fNZqlIR2dz pic.twitter.com/CPzFJdsuJZ — Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) January 9, 2021

Witnesses told the BBC Indonesian service that at least one explosion had been seen and heard.

"The plane fell like lightning into the sea and exploded in the water," a fisherman eyewitness told the BBC.

"It was pretty close to us, the shards of a kind of plywood almost hit my ship." The BBC also reports that objects thought to be from the plane have been found by residents of a near by island. The Indonesian transport ministry has said that a search and rescue operation was currently underway. The last contact with the plane was made at 2:40pm local time (7:40am GMT). The standard flight time from Jakarta to Pontianak on the island of Borneo, is around 90 minutes. Lead image from Google Maps.

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