Reuters
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Indonesian authorities said on Sunday that the remains of a missing fisheries surveillance plane in South Sulawesi province had been found near a fog-shrouded mountain, but they were still searching for the 11 people on board.
The ATR 42-500 turboprop aircraft, owned by aviation group Indonesia Air Transport, lost contact with air traffic control near the Maros region of South Sulawesi island at around 1:30pm local time (0530 GMT) on Saturday.
The plane, carrying eight crew members and three passengers, was chartered by Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries to carry out aerial surveillance of fisheries. The passengers were Ministry of Foreign Affairs employees.
The head of South Sulawesi’s rescue agency, Muhammad Arif Anwar, said on local television that rescue teams would deploy 1,200 people to search for the missing passengers and crew after the wreckage was discovered.
“Our first priority is finding victims and we hope someone can safely evacuate,” he said.
After leaving Yogyakarta province, the plane was headed to Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province, until contact was lost.
Andy Sultan, an official with the South Sulawesi Rescue Agency, said local rescue teams discovered the wreckage at various locations around Mount Bulusaraung in Maros region on Sunday morning. The mountain is about 1,500 km (930 miles) northeast of Jakarta, the capital of the vast island nation.
“The helicopter crew witnessed the fragmentation of the plane’s window at 7:46 a.m.,” Sultan told reporters.
“Then at about 7:49 a.m., we found a large portion of the aircraft, which appeared to be the fuselage of the plane,” he said, adding that the tail of the plane was also seen at the bottom of the mountain slope.
Sultan said rescue teams were being dispatched to the location where the wreckage was found, adding that the search was hampered by dense fog and mountainous terrain.
In video footage shared by rescue agencies, the plane’s windows were spotted scattered over a mountain covered in thick fog and strong winds.
Sultan said Indonesia’s National Transport Safety Board will lead the investigation into the accident. The cause remains unknown, and experts say most accidents are caused by a combination of factors.
The ATR 42‑500 is a regional turboprop aircraft manufactured by French-Italian airplane manufacturer ATR AIR.PA, LDOF.MI and capable of carrying between 42 and 50 passengers.
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 told X that tracking range was limited because the plane was flying at low altitude over the sea, and the last signal was received at 4:20 p.m. Japan time about 20 kilometers northeast of Makassar Airport.
