A regional plane carrying 11 people lost contact with ground control on Saturday as it approached a mountainous region between the main Indonesian island of Java and the island of Sulawesi, officials said. A search and rescue operation is underway.
The ATR 42-500 turboprop operated by Indonesia Air Transport was en route from Yogyakarta to the South Sulawesi capital when it disappeared from radar, said Transport Ministry spokesperson Endah Purnama Sari. The plane was last spotted at 1:17 p.m. local time in the Leang-Leang area of Maros, a mountainous district in South Sulawesi province.
Several search and rescue teams, supported by helicopters, drones and air force ground units, were deployed, Sari said in a statement.
Hopes of locating the wreckage grew after hikers on Mount Bulusaraung reported finding scattered debris, a logo matching Indonesian air transport markings and small fires still burning at the scene.
“These sightings have been reported to authorities and are being verified by rescue teams trying to reach the area,” said South Sulawesi military commander Maj. Gen. Bangun Nawako Hasanuddin.
Sari said the plane disappeared shortly after being ordered by air traffic control to correct its approach alignment. “After the last ATC instructions, radio contact was lost and controllers declared the emergency distress phase.”
She said rescue teams focused their search around the mountains where the plane, with eight crew members and three passengers from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries on board, was believed to have veered off course on its approach to Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport.
Weather conditions at that time indicated clouds and visibility of almost 8 km, Sari said.
The steep terrain of Bulusaraung National Park, connecting Maros and Pangkep districts, complicated search efforts, Nawoko said.