A Lion Air Boeing 737 carrying 188 people crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from the Indonesian capital of Jakarta today.
Flight JT 610 was on a scheduled service to Pangkal Pinang, the main town in the Bangka Belitung islands.
The new type Boeing 737 MAX 8 lost contact with ground control a few minutes after take-off, and is believed to have ended up underwater. It is unclear if there are survivors, the BBC reported.
Search and Rescue Agency spokesman Yusuf Latif told AFP news agency: “The plane crashed into water about 30m to 40m deep. We’re still searching for the remains of the plane.”
Items believed to belong to passengers have been found in the water, including ID cards and driver’s licences, the search and rescue agency said on Twitter.
At an earlier news conference, officials said the aircraft had been carrying 178 adults, one infant and two babies, as well as two pilots and five cabin crew.
But there were conflicting reports on the exact number of people on board.
Indonesian low cost carrier Lion Air said that the pilot and co-pilot were experienced, with more than 11,000 flight hours between them.
Three of those on board were trainee flight attendants and one was a technician.
The airline said the aircraft involved in the crash was made this year and has only been in operation since August 15.
Boeing said it “stands ready to provide technical assistance to the accident investigation”.