The body of one of 11 people on board a plane that crashed in eastern Indonesia was found among the wreckage on Sunday.
An Indonesian Air Transport passenger plane disappeared on Saturday after losing contact with air traffic control in South Sulawesi province during the flight. The plane was flying from Yogyakarta, Java, to Makassar, Sulawesi.
Search and rescue crews found the body in a steep ravine, but poor weather conditions, including heavy fog, and harsh terrain forced them to postpone rescue efforts until Monday.
Local official Muhammad Arif Anwar said the team also found debris believed to be the fuselage, tail and windows of an ATR 42-500 turboprop aircraft. Other debris was also found, including the plane’s engine and passenger seats.
Plane wreckage was found on the mountainside during an operation led by Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency Basarnas – Basarnas/Handout/EPA/Shutterstock
Three government workers and eight crew members were believed to be on board the plane, which was part of an aerial surveillance mission by Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.
Anwar said the plane crashed on Mount Bulusalang in Bandimlon-Bulusalang National Park, bordering Makassar City. The crash site is about 1,500 kilometers northeast of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.
The official added that a force had been sent to search for the remaining 10 passengers and crew.
The land and air search mission involved more than 1,000 people, including air force personnel, police and volunteers.
The cause of the crash remains to be determined. The plane had technical issues but was declared safe before flying to Makassar, IAT said in a statement.
Rescuers search for debris from the helicopter before crawling to the crash site – Basarnas/Handout/EPA/Shutterstock
Muchtamir/AFP via Getty Images
Indonesia relies heavily on air transport to connect the thousands of islands that make up the archipelago. The country has a poor aviation safety record, with a number of fatal accidents in recent years.
In 2015, an ATR 42-300 aircraft crashed into a mountain in Papua, killing all 54 people on board.
In September, a helicopter crash occurred in South Kalimantan province, killing all eight people on board. Less than two weeks later, a helicopter crash in Papua killed four people.
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