Maravi Express
A passenger plane with more than 50 people on board has gone missing after take-off from the Indonesian capital Jakarta.
The BBC reports that Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737 lost contact en route to Pontianak in West Kalimantan province.
A Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737
Quoting flight tracking website Flightradar24.com, the BBC says the aircraft had lost more than 3,000m (10,000ft) in altitude in less than a minute.
The transport ministry said search and rescue efforts were under way.
The flight is reported to be carrying 59 passengers, including five children and a baby, as reported by Indonesian newspaper Republika.
Coronavirus alert
Reports say aviation sector in Indonesia, a developing country of thousands of islands, has long been plagued by trouble, contending with poor safety records and the rapid growth of budget airlines.
In 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 plunged into the Java Sea with 189 people aboard after the 737 jetliner’s antistall system, designed by Boeing, malfunctioned.
The country’s aviation safety commission said it was on alert and that the transportation minister was on his way to the international airport in Jakarta.
Appeal from Sandra Sharon Kamanga