A small passenger plane carrying 11 people has vanished in Indonesia, prompting a search-and-rescue operation as authorities race to locate the aircraft and any possible survivors.
The Indonesia Air Transport turboplane disappeared from radar during what was expected to be a two-hour flight from Yogyakarta to Makassar, according to the Associated Press (AP) and Antara, Indonesia’s national news agency.
The aircraft was carrying eight crew members and three passengers. It last made contact with air traffic control at 1:17 p.m. local time, Edy Prakoso, director of operations at Basarnas — Indonesia’s national search-and-rescue agency — told Antara.
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Prakoso said available data suggests the plane may have gone down over the Maros District. He added that 25 search-and-rescue officers have been deployed and split into three teams to search for wreckage. The operation remains ongoing, Antara reported.
Hikers on Mount Bulusaraung in South Sulawesi reported seeing scattered debris — including what appeared to be a logo consistent with Indonesia Air — along with small fires burning in the area, according to the AP.
“The sightings were reported to authorities and are being verified by rescue teams attempting to reach the area,” South Sulawesi’s Hasanuddin military commander, Maj. Gen. Bangun Nawoko, said in a statement, according to the outlet.
Indonesia’s Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, said in a statement to the press that three Ministry employees were on board as part of a surveillance mission tied to fisheries management operations, the AP reported.
