Parts of human bodies have been discovered in the waters off Indonesia's West Java province where a Lion Air plane with 189 people aboard crashed on Monday, a rescue official said.

"Several parts of human bodies and things have been found on the scene," Yusuf Latief, head of communication for media of the national search and rescue office, told Xinhua by phone.

The findings would be brought to the newly set up crisis center in Tanjung Periuk port of Jakarta before being shifted to the police hospital, Yusuf said.

The chief rescuer could not give a specific number of the retrieved bodies.

As many as 30 divers were trying to reach the main wreckage of the Boeing 737 Max 8 plane, according to the agency.

Two babies and one child were among the people onboard the JT 610 flight, which crashed into the sea off Karawang of West Java province shortly after taking off from Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta international airport, according to the Transport Ministry.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ordered the National Commission for Transportation Safety to investigate the cause of the plane crash.

While attending a conference in Bali on Monday, the Indonesia president said rescuers were making their best efforts to find victims.

Responding to reports that plane had a technical problem on its last flight, Lion Air's President Director Edward Sirait said the technical problem on the plane was resolved in accordance with the manufacturer's procedures.

An Indian pilot was among the people onboard the crashed plane, who joined the low-cost carrier in March 2011, the Indian media reported.