Cargo aircraft missing in eastern Indonesia
A cargo plane with four people, including two pilots, on board went missing on October 31 morning in a mountainous area of Indonesia’s eastern province of Papua.
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The plane contacted the air traffic control centre in Ilaga at 8:23 am, saying that it was due to land in a few minutes. However, it sent an emergency signal from an area between two mountain passes, and lost contact with the centre immediately after that.
The plane was owned by Puncak district administration and was used to transport its cargo, said the ministry.
A rescue and search team has been deployed to seek the missing aircraft, said Henry Bambang Soelistyo, spokesman of the Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency . However, mountainous terrain and bad weather are hindering their efforts, he added.
Aircraft is the most popular means of transport in Papua, the second largest province among over 17,000 islands in Indonesia, which is featured by dense forests and high mountains. Many planes have crashed in the area and have not yet been found.-
