A Lion Air flight carrying 189 passengers and crew members has crashed into the sea off the island of Java.
The plane lost contact with air traffic control shortly after taking off from Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport.
The plane, heading to the city of Pangkal Pinang off the island of Sumatra, was being piloted by Bhavye Suneja who is of Indian-origin, according to a statement by Lion Air.
The airline said that flight captain Bhavye Suneja had more than 6,000 hours of flight time.
Captain Suneja’s Linkedin profile says he is with PT Lion Air since March 2011. Before that he was a trainee pilot with Emirates.
He is an alumni of Ahlcon Public School in New Delhi.
The debris of the plane and some personal belongings of the passengers have been found, according to Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency.
The head of the agency Mr M Syaugi told a news conference that authorities are praying for survivors to be found.
"We don't know yet whether there are any survivors," Mr Syaugi said.
