The aircraft flying from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang lost contact about 15 minutes after taking off at 6:20 a.m local time and was scheduled to arrive in Pangkalpinang at 7:05 a.m local time.
"We are sending a number of warships and navy personnel," Navy Spokesman Colonel M Zaenal said in a written statement on Monday.
The warships which are mobilized included KRI Tenggiri-865, KRI Rigel-933, KRI Sikuda-863.
"To detect the presence of objects in the water, we mobilize a divers team from the First Fleet Command and Naval Base III," he said.
?? The aircraft which carries 189 passengers was believed to have crashed around Tanjung Karawang waters.
Before it lost contact, the airplane had asked for a permission to return to Jakarta due to a problem
The Indonesian authorities have set up a crisis center at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, to deal with the accident.
Reporting by Saiful Hakim
(T.SYS/C/A014/C/F001) 29-10-2018 12:26:49
Reporter: Amtara
Editor: Andi Abdussalam
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
