An Indonesian plane carrying 189 people crashed into the sea and sank minutes after taking off from the capital, Jakarta.
The Lion Air flight, JT610, lost contact with ground officials 13 minutes after takeoff, Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said. The agency posted photos online showing a crushed smartphone, books, bags and parts of the aircraft fuselage which had been collected by search and rescue vessels.
Around 300 people, including soldiers, police and local fishermen were involved in the search – which has so far recovered no bodies, only ID cards, personal belongings and aircraft debris.
Lion Air said the brand-new Boeing 737, which was on a 1-hour-and-10-minute flight to Pangkal Pinang on an island chain off Sumatra, was carrying 181 passengers, including one child and two babies, and eight crew members.
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The Indonesian Air Force has released aerial footage of the crash site captured by one of its helicopter pilots.
The air force said it hoped there were survivors of the disaster who could still be saved, although this statement appears to have come before rescue officials announced they were are not expecting to find passengers alive at the crash site.
Bambang Suryo went on to say the search effort is focusing on finding bodies.
The operations director of Indonesia's search and rescue agency said six body bags have been used so far for the human remains recovered.
He said the location of the plane's hull has not yet been identified. The waters where it sank are up to 30m (100ft) deep.
The search is currently planned to last seven days and could be extended.
The crash is the worst airline disaster in Indonesia since an AirAsia flight from Surabaya to Singapore plunged into the sea in December 2014, killing all 162 on board.
Indonesian airlines were barred in 2007 from flying to Europe because of safety concerns, though several were allowed to resume services in the following decade. The ban was completely lifted in June this year. The US lifted a decade-long ban in 2016.
Lion Air, a discount carrier, is one of Indonesia's youngest and biggest airlines, flying to dozens of domestic and international destinations.
In 2013, one of its Boeing 737-800 jets missed the runway while landing on the resort island of Bali, crashing into the sea without causing any fatalities among the 108 people on board.
An Indonesian rescue official has said they are "not expecting survivors" from the plane crash, which was carrying 189 people before it plummeted into the sea near Jakarta.
"We need to find the main wreckage," Bambang Suryo, operational director of Indonesia's search and rescue agency, said.
"I predict there are no survivors, based on body parts found so far."
Lion Air's president has said the crashed plane had a technical problem on its last flight which was resolved.
Edward Sirait said the technical problem on Boeing 737 Max 8 plane was resolved in accordance with the manufacturer's procedures. He wasn't more specific but said the problem on the earlier flight would be part of the investigation.
Separately, Indonesia's directorate-general of air transportation said the flight from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang requested to return to Jakarta shortly after takeoff from the capital's airport. The plane crashed into the sea about 13 minutes after takeoff.
In a statement about the tragedy, the air transportation agency's spokesman, Sindu Rahayu, said: "The plane had requested a return to base before disappearing from the radar." It gave no other details about the request.
Families are turning up at Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency headquarters in Jakarta for world of their loved ones after a Lion Air plane crashed at sea.
Indonesia's finance minister, Sri Mulyani, met with the agency chief, seeking information about 20 finance ministry staff who were on the flight.
The plane was cleared to return to Jakarta's airport after making the request two or three minutes after take-off, an official has said.
One of the pilots of the Lion Air plane that crashed was an Indian citizen and one Italian passenger was on board, the director of Lion Air has said.
An Indian embassy official in Jakarta, Debashis Biswas, identified the pilot as Bhavye Suneja.
An Indian embassy official in Jakarta, Debashis Biswas, identified the pilot as Bhavye Suneja.
Rescuers have retrieved body parts from the crashed plane, a spokesman has said.
Boeing said it was "deeply saddened" by the Lion Air off crash and offered to help with the investigation.
Searchers so far have found plane debris and personal items but no bodies.
The Chicago-based planemaker said it is prepared to provide technical assistance into the crash probe, which will be carried out by Indonesian investigators.
In its statement, Boeing Co expressed its concern for the 189 people onboard, and offered "heartfelt sympathies to their families and loved ones".
Aviation tracking website Flightradar24 said the Lion Air plane was a brand-new aircraft that has only been in use for a couple of months.
The site said the 737 Max 8 plane was registered as PK-LQP and was delivered to the airline in August.
Vessels searching in the water for the Flight 610 wreckage have found various items of debris.
The Max 8 is part of Boeing Co.'s latest narrow-body 737 series. It replaced the similar 737-800 in the Chicago-based planemaker's product line.
Indonesia's president, Joko Widodo, said he has ordered the National Commission for Transportation Safety to investigate the Lion Air crash.
He said rescuers are making their best efforts to find victims and urged Indonesians "to keep on praying."
Mr Widodo, speaking in Bali where he was attending a conference, said he felt the anxiety of families and hoped they could remain calm while rescuers were working hard at the crash location at sea northeast of Jakarta.
Indonesia's search and rescue agency said the flight ended in waters off West Java that are 30m to 35m (98ft to 115ft) deep.
The agency's chief Muhammad Syaugi told a news conference that divers are trying to locate the wreckage.
Weather conditions for the flight were safe, according to the Indonesian meteorology agency. It said the type of clouds associated with turbulence was not present and winds were weak.
Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency's deputy chief, Nugroho Budi Wiryanto, said some 300 people including soldiers, police and local fishermen are involved in the search and that so far it has recovered no bodies — only ID cards, personal belongings and aircraft debris.
"We are waiting for the miracle from God," said Mr Wiryanto, when asked if there's any hope of survivors.
189 feared dead after plane crashes after take-off in Indonesia
Disaster workers find crushed smartphone, books and aircraft parts among wreckage in seaHello, these are the latest updates in the search and rescue operation which has been launched to locate the passengers of a Lion Air plane which crashed into the sea minutes after taking off from Indonesia's capital.
"We don't know yet whether there are any survivors," the head of Indonesia's search and rescue agency, Muhmmad Syaugi, said, adding that no distress signal had been received from the aircraft's emergency transmitter.
"We hope, we pray, but we cannot confirm."
Items such as handphones and life vests were found in waters about 30m to 35m (98ft to 115ft) deep near where the plane lost contact, he said.
"We are there already, our vessels, our helicopter is hovering above the waters, to assist," Mr Syaugi said. "We are trying to dive down to find the wreck."
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