Minutes after takeoff, Indonesian flight Lion Air crashes into sea. LIVE UPDATES HERE

Update at 5:41 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted to express grief for the families who lost their lives in the plane crash.

Update at 3:37 pm: Indian embassy in Jakarta confirms death of Indian pilot Bhavye Suneja in Lion Air Plane crash.

Update at 2:23 pm: Lion Air 'repaired' technical issue on crashed jet after previous flight: CEO 

Update at 1:35 pm: Indian pilot Bhavye Suneja captained Indonesian plane Lion Air flight  JT610 which crashed into sea with 188 passengers and crew: Airline

Update at 10:55 am: Aviation tracking website says Lion Air plane that crashed at sea was a brand-new aircraft that had only been in use for a couple of months: AP

Update at 9:06 am: Indonesia DGCA releases a statement regarding the Lion Air plane crash.

1. Jakarta - Acting Director General of Civil Aviation Pramintohadi Soekarno confirmed that there had been lost contact with Lion Air aircraft by registering PK-LQP flight number JT 610 with the Jakarta-Pangkal Pinang route.

Missing contacts at around 06.33 WIB at position: 05 48,934 S 107 07,384 E and Radial: 40.21 degree / 23.81 NM.

The aircraft carries 178 adult passengers, 1 child and 2 babies. The flight crew consisted of 2 pilots and 5 cabin crew. PIC Capt Bhavve Suneja and SIC Harvino.
 
According to Pramintohadi, the plane has a Certificate of registration issued 15/08/2018 expired 08/08/2021. Certificate of water worthiness issued 15/08/2018 expired 08/08/2019.

Information from Tanjung Priok VTS was received on behalf of Mr. Suyadi, tug boat AS JAYA II (route: South Kalimantan - Marunda) saw Lion Air aircraft allegedly falling around Tanjung Karawang," said Pramintohadi.

According to Pramintohadi, currently a search for the plane was conducted by a team from Basarnas. Rescuer Kansar Jakarta and RIB 03 Kansar Jakarta moves to the location of the coordinates of the incident to conduct SAR operations.

"At present there has been a crisis center in Terminal 1 B of Soekarno Hatta Airport and Depati Amir Pangkal Pinang Airport for families of passengers," said Pramintohadi. (DJPU team)

Update at 9:00 am: Flightradar24 shows data of the Lion Air plane before it crashed.

Update at 8:53 am:  Indonesia energy firm Pertamina official says debris, including plane seats, found near its offshore facility in Java sea.

Just minutes after it took off, Indonesian flight Lion Air, which left Jakarta and was heading to Pangkal Pinang, crashed into the sea. The Boeing 737-800 plane, which had departed from its location at 6.20 a.m, could not be contacted by the air officials 13 minutes after it was airborne. A total of 188 passengers were onboard, and initial reports have stated that the plane's debris have been found in Java sea.

A search and rescue operation was immediately launched. “We can confirm that one of our flights has lost contact,” said Lion Air spokesman Danang Mandala Prihantoro. “Its position cannot be ascertained yet.”

Flight tracking service Flightradar24 says preliminary flight data shows a drop in the plane's altitude and increase in speed before the transmission was cut.

The plane appears to have plunged into the sea just off the coast of Indonesia, the data provided by the service shows. It was reportedly at an altitude of 3,650 feet (about 1,112m) when the signal was lost.