The Main Harbourmaster of Tanjung Priok Port has dispatched the KNP 356, 507 and 557 Patrol Boats to the location where the Lion Air JT 610 aircraft crashed.

"Once we received the information, we all took action, considering the environment on the sea is distinctly different compared to the land," said Head of Patrol Maintenance and Investigation of the Main Harbourmaster of Tanjung Priok Port Captain Dian Lesmana in a statement received in Bontang, Monday.

There are also two other patrol boats under the name KNP 488 that are being put on stand by, ready to be dispatched to the location.

The Ministry of Transportation`s Directorate General of Civil Aviation is currently coordinating with BASARNAS, Lion Air as the operator and Directorate General of Sea Transportation, as well as LPPNPI Public Corporation to conduct search and rescue activities on JT 610 aircraft.

A Lion Air plane with a flight number JT610 and 188 people on board, crashed in Tanjung Kerawang waters, West Java Province, after flying for 13 minutes from Jakarta toward Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung Province, on Monday morning.

"It has been confirmed that the plane crashed in Tanjung Kerawang waters," Erzaldi Rosman Djohan, Bangka Belitung Governor, told the press in Jakarta, Monday.

The airplane departed from Jakarta at 06:20 a.m local time and was scheduled to arrive in Pangkalpinang at 07:05 a.m local time, according to the Depati Amir airport authority in Pangkalpinang.

Before it lost contact, the airplane had asked for a permission to return to Jakarta due to a problem.

The airplane carried 178 adult passengers, three infants, and five crew members and two pilots.

Governor Erzaldi had asked airport staff to collect data on the families of the victims, then two people from the family representatives will be departed for Jakarta.

"Two people from family representatives will be sent to Jakarta because the emergency post is at Soekarno Hatta Airport," he said.

The Indonesian authorities have set up an emergency command post at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, to deal with the accident. (ANTARA)