The scene was grim at the crash site of the Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 that crashed a few minutes after it left Soekarno-Hatta international airport in Jakarta.
Body bags loaded with passenger belongings and others with body parts recovered from the site were received by Jakarta police, said its spokesman Yusri Yunus.
On Saturday afternoon, Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182, a Boeing 737-500, took off from Jakarta. It was bound for Pontianak city on Indonesia’s portion of Borneo Island, about 90 minutes travel time via the Java Sea.
It did not reach its destination.
After the plane reached about 11,000 feet in altitude, it then plunged into a steep dive and air traffic control suddenly lost contact.
There were 62 people on board, passengers and crew, including 10 children. All were Indonesians, the authorities said.
One waiting at Pontianak Airport said his wife and three children were aboard the ill-fated flight.
No details were provided as to what caused the crash.
Hundreds of search and rescue personnel, including those from the navy and police, are still conducting a frantic search, with the help of at least 10 warships, plus helicopters, but there seem to be no hope of finding any survivors.