A passenger plane carrying 11 people lost contact with ground control on Saturday while approaching a mountainous region between Indonesia’s main island of Java and Sulawesi island, authorities said. A search and rescue operation is underway.
The turboprop ATR 42-500 operated by Indonesia Air Transport was en route from Yogyakarta to the South Sulawesi capital when it disappeared from radar, Transport Ministry spokesman Endah Purnama Sari said. The plane was last tracked at 1:17 p.m. local time in the Leang-Leang area of Maros, a mountainous district in South Sulawesi province.
Multiple search and rescue teams have been deployed, supported by air force helicopters, drones and ground units, Sari said in a statement.
Hopes of finding the wreckage rose after hikers reported debris strewn on Mount Bulusaraung, a logo matching the markings of Indonesian Air Transport and small fires still burning at the site.
“The sightings were reported to the authorities and are being verified by rescue teams trying to reach the area,” said Major General Bangun Nawoko, Hasanuddin, South Sulawesi’s military commander.
Sari said the plane disappeared shortly after receiving an order from air traffic control to correct its approach alignment. “After final instructions from ATC, radio contact was lost and controllers declared an emergency phase.”
He said rescue teams had focused their search around the mountains where the plane, with three passengers from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries on board, was believed to have diverted from its approach to Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport.
Weather conditions at the time indicated clouds and visibility of nearly 5 kilometers, Sari said.
The rugged terrain of Bulusaraung National Park, which connects Maros and Pangkep districts, has hampered search efforts, Nawoko said.