Jakarta: Flight with 189 people crashes, Indian pilot was flying the aircraft

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said rescue officials are trying their best to locate the victims.

"I feel myself deep from the entire family of passengers and crew of Lion Air JT610 that fell this morning. We are exerting all our best efforts to find victims. May Allah SWT grant patience, power, and convenience to all of us," the President tweeted.

The flight was on its way Pangkal Pinang city.

The total number of people on the plane was 189, according to the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), reported The Jakarta Post.

As per The Jakarta Post report, Lion Air flight JT610, which reportedly carried two pilots, six crew members and 181 passengers, lost contact with air traffic controllers at 6:33 a.m., about 13 minutes after it had taken off from Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The newspaper further said the plane reportedly crashed 7 nautical miles north of the coast of Tanjung Bungin in Karawang, West Java.

Flightradar24, a Swedish internet-based service that shows real-time commercial aircraft flight information on a map, on Monday tweeted to inform that the flight was delivered to Lion Air in August.

"The flight was operated by Boeing 737 MAX 8 registration PK-LQP. The aircraft was delivered to Lion Air in August of this year. It is powered by two CFM LEAP-1B engines. https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/pk-lqp#1e5ff318 … #JT610," read the tweet 

Indian connection:

The pilot of the crashed flight was an Indian national.

He was identified as Bhavye Suneja.

Indian embassy in Indonesia also confirmed the tragedy and tweeted: "Our deepest condolences on the tragic loss of lives in the Lion Air Plane crash, off the coast of Jakarta today. Most unfortunate that Indian Pilot Bhavye Suneja who was flying JT610 also lost his life...Embassy is in touch with Crisis Center and coordinating for all assistance."