Lion Air flight JT610 was travelling from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang on the island of Bangka when tragedy occured. The passenger plane carrying 189 people crashed into the sea off Jakarta 13 minutes after taking off. Before crashing, the pilot had asked if it could return to base. The flight data showed that it had made a sharp dive into the sea.

Officials said human remains had been recovered from the crash site, about 15km off the coast with survivors not expected. An Indian national, Bhavye Suneja, was flying the plane. He had been living in Jakarta with his wife.

The cause of the crash has not been confirmed as the plane&rsquos black box, comprising the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, is yet to be recovered although its location has been determined on Monday afternoon. Retrieval is in process.

Search and rescue teams are focussing on several areas off the coast of Java, which is where they believe the body of the plane is located.

So far, 10 bodies have been discovered. Another 14 bags filled with debris, including handbags, clothing, mobile phones, ID cards and driving licenses, have also been collected. An underwater search has also begun, involving 30 specialised divers.

Lion Air has flown 169 family members of those on board JT610 to Jakarta to help with identifying the remains.