Indian pilot Bhavye Suneja captained Indonesian plane Lion Air that crashes into sea with 188 passengers

Indian pilot Bhavye Suneja captained the Indonesian plane Lion Air which crashed into the sea on Monday with 188 passengers and crew, the airline said.

The flight JT610 en-route to Pangkalpinang crashed near Kerawang, 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta Soekarno Hatta International Airport.

The flight carried 178 adults, 1 child and 2 infants, including 3 crew under training and 1 technician, the airline said in a statement.

The aircraft was commanded by Captain Suneja and co-pilot Harvino with six cabin crew members.

The 31-year-old captain has 6,000 flight hours and the co-pilot more than 5,000 flight hours, the statement said.