Indonesia Air plane with 11 people on board disappears from radar: “Our thoughts go out to those affected by this accident”
Authorities in Indonesia began on the afternoon of Saturday, October 17, the search for a small plane carrying 11 people, with whom they lost contact as the aircraft flew over the east of the country, rescue officials told AFP.
The aircraft disappeared from radar. PHOTO Shutterstock
The turboprop aircraft, belonging to the airline company Indonesia Air Transport, was heading to Makassar, in South Sulawesi, after taking off from Yogyakarta, on the island of Java, with three passengers and eight crew members on board, according to the international press agency, quoted by Agerpres.
Shortly after 13:00 local time (06:00 GMT) contact with the plane was lost
The plane is an ATR 42-500, according to manufacturer ATR, which makes regional turboprop aircraft and is based in Toulouse, France.
“Our thoughts go out to those affected by this accident.”again “ATR experts are fully engaged to collaborate with the Indonesian authorities and the Indonesian airline”the company said in a statement.
Muhammad Arif Anwar, head of the local search and rescue agency, said teams were dispatched to a mountainous area in the Maros region, about 42 kilometers from the provincial capital, Makassar, near the plane's last known position.
He added that the army, police and volunteers are participating in ground and air searches.
Andi Sultan, director of operations at the search and rescue agency in Makassar, said a helicopter and drones were sent to the scene to find the plane.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago in Southeast Asia, depends heavily on air transport to connect its thousands of islands.
We recall that in December 2024, Malaysia approved the resumption of the search for a plane with 150 people on board that mysteriously disappeared 10 years ago, offering 70 million dollars for the discovery of the wreckage.
