Indonesia's Lion Air says it lost contact with passenger plane

Boeing 737-800 carrying 188 people believed to have crashed into the sea during a flight from from Jakarta to an island off Sumatra

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s Lion Air said Monday it has lost contact with a passenger jet flying from Jakarta to an island off Sumatra.

A search and rescue effort has been launched for the Boeing 737-800 plane which departed Jakarta about 6.20 a.m. for Pangkal Pinang.

The plane was believed to be carrying 188 people, including crew

“We can confirm that one of our flights has lost contact,” said Lion Air spokesman Danang Mandala Prihantoro. “Its position cannot be ascertained yet.”

A telegram from the National Search and Rescue Agency to the air force has requested assistance with the search of a location at sea off Java.

Data for Lion Air’s Flight 610 on aircraft tracking website FlightAware ends just a few minutes following takeoff.

Lion Air is one of Indonesia’s youngest and biggest airlines, flying to dozens of domestic and international destinations.

In 2013, one of its Boeing 737-800 jets missed the runway while landing on the resort island of Bali, crashing into the sea without causing any fatalities among the 108 people on board.