A regional passenger plane lost contact with ground control while approaching a mountainous area between Indonesia’s main island of Java and the island of Sulawesi. Officials said 11 people were on board the plane, and a search and rescue operation is underway.
Transportation Ministry spokesperson Endah Purnama Sari said the turboprop ATR 42-500 aircraft, operated by Indonesia Air Transport, was en route from Yogyakarta to the capital of South Sulawesi when it disappeared from radar. The plane was last spotted at 1:17 p.m. in the Layang-Layang area of Maros, a mountainous district in South Sulawesi province. Sari said in a statement that multiple search and rescue teams, supported by air force helicopters, drones, and ground units, have been deployed.
Hopes of locating the wreckage increased after climbers on Mount Bulusarung reported seeing scattered debris, a logo matching the Indonesia Air Transport logo, and a fire at the scene. “The information has been passed to the authorities and rescue teams are attempting to reach the area and confirm the location,” said Major General Bangun Nawoko, South Sulawesi’s Hasanuddin military commander. “
After the last instructions from ATC, radio contact was lost and controllers declared an emergency distress call,” Sari said. He said rescue teams focused their search around the mountains where the plane is believed to have veered off its landing path at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport. He said the plane was carrying eight crew members and three passengers from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.