"The total number of passengers is 50, consisting of 40 adults, seven children and three babies, plus 12 crew members," Budi Sumadi said during a virtual press conference here on Saturday night.
The minister expressed his concern about the accident and asked for the public to pray for an untroubled search and rescue operation.
"We are concerned about the accident," he said.
The Minister of Transportation, in cooperation with Basarnas (National Search and Rescue Agency) and the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), has deployed four ships in the waters off Laki Island and Lancang Island, Pulau Seribu District, Jakarta, believed to be the location of the plane crash.
Just minutes after taking off, the Boeing 737-500 aircraft was reported missing, following its last contact with air traffic controller at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at around 2:40 p.m. local time, at a position 11 nautical miles north of the airport, Tangerang, Banten Province.
The Indonesian Navy has deployed seven ships to look for the missing aircraft. The Indonesian Air Force has also made ready helicopters to join the search efforts.
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(INE)
Translator: Fardah Assegaf
Editor: Suharto
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