An Indonesia Air Transport aircraft carrying 11 people has gone missing after losing contact with air traffic control, sparking fears that it may have crashed, aviation and rescue officials said on Saturday.
The turboprop aircraft, identified as an ATR 42-500, departed Yogyakarta on a scheduled two-hour flight to Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi. Contact with the plane was reportedly lost when it was about 12 miles from its destination airport.
Authorities said the aircraft had three passengers and eight crew members on board.
Search and rescue operations were immediately launched, with teams deployed to the Leang-Leang area, where the aircraft’s last known coordinates were recorded.
Andi Sultan, Head of Operations at the Makassar office of Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), confirmed that multiple teams had been mobilised to locate the missing plane.
“We have moved towards the coordinates provided by AirNav around the Leang-Leang area,” Sultan said. “A total of 60 search and rescue personnel have been deployed to detect and locate the ATR 42-500 aircraft.”
According to him, an initial assessment team of five personnel was dispatched first, followed by a second team of 15 officers, while a third team comprising 40 specialised rescue workers was also sent to reinforce the operation.
Rescue efforts are ongoing, as authorities work to determine the aircraft’s fate and the circumstances surrounding the loss of communication. Further details are expected as the search progresses.