Indonesia's Sriwijaya Air plane lost contact shortly after taking off

A Sriwijaya Air flight 182 has lost contact with Indonesia’s aviation authorities shortly after taking off from capital Jakarta, FlightRadar24 reported on Saturday.

According the flight tracker website, plane was a 26-year-old Boeing 737-500 series. Sriwijaya Air representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

Flight tracking showed the flight path ending off the coast just north of Jakarta after losing altitude.

The flight took off from Soekarno-Hatta Airport. It was heading to Pontianak, the provincial capital of West Kalimantan.

The aircraft’s last contact was at 2:40 p.m., and authorities have started search and rescue operations for the missing plane, according to Adita Irawati, a spokeswoman for the transport ministry.

According to Indonesian newspaper Merdeka, The Regent of the Thousand Islands said he had information that "something fell and exploded on Male Island".

"We found some cables, a piece of jeans, and pieces of metal on the water," CNN Indonesia reported, citing Zulkifli, a security official.

There were at least 59 on board, including five children and a baby, local media reported.

The Indonesia-based airline said in a statement it is still gathering more detailed information regarding the flight before it can make a fuller statement.

A Boeing spokeswoman said, "We are aware of media reports from Jakarta, and are closely monitoring the situation. We are working to gather more information."

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