Indonesian Sriwijaya Air plane loses contact after taking off from Jakarta

The aircraft is a 27-year-old Boeing 737-500, according to registration details included in the tracking data.

A Sriwijaya Air plane with more than 50 people on board lost contact after taking off from Indonesian capital Jakarta on Saturday en route to Pontianak in West Kalimantan province, local media reported.

This file photo taken over Tangerang on March 18, 2013 shows a Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-300, a similar model to the Indonesian airline's Boeing 737-500 operating as flight SJY182 that lost contact during a flight from Jakarta to Pontianak on January 9, 2021. (AP)

Reliable tracking service Flightradar24 said on its Twitter feed that Flight SJ182 "lost more than 10,000 feet of altitude in less than one minute, about 4 minutes after departure from Jakarta".

The aircraft is a 27-year-old Boeing 737-500, according to registration details included in the tracking data.

Sriwijaya Air, an Indonesian airline, said in a statement it is still gathering more detailed information regarding the flight before it can make any statement.

(Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy, Agustinus Beo Da Costa, Tabita Diela and Tim Hepher; Editing by Frances Kerry)