JAKARTA, Jan 19: Indonesian rescuers on Sunday recovered wreckage from a missing plane that is believed to have crashed the previous day with 11 people on board while approaching a mountainous region on Sulawesi island during cloudy weather.
The turboprop ATR 42-500 was on its way from Yogyakarta on Indonesia's main island of Java to Makassar, the capital city of South Sulawesi province, when it vanished from radar on Saturday shortly after being instructed by air traffic control to correct its approach alignment.
The plane, operated by Indonesia Air Transport, was last tracked at 01:17 p.m. in the Leang-Leang area of Maros, a mountainous district of South Sulawesi province. It was carrying eight crew members and three passengers from the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry who were aboard as part of an airborne maritime surveillance mission.
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A rescue team on an air force helicopter on Sunday morning spotted what appeared to be a small aircraft window in a forested area on the slope of Mount Bulusaraung, said Muhammad Arif Anwar, who heads Makassar's Search and Rescue Office. It was followed by rescuers on the ground who retrieved larger debris consistent with the main fuselage and tail scattered on a steep northern slope, Anwar told a news conference.
"The discovery of the aircraft's main sections significantly narrows the search zone and offers a crucial clue for tightening the search area,” Anwar said, “Our joint search and rescue teams are now focusing on searching for the victims, especially those who might still be alive.”
Ground and air rescue teams continued moving toward the wreckage site Sunday, despite strong winds, heavy fog and steep rugged terrain that have slowed the search, said Maj. Gen. Bangun Nawoko, the South Sulawesi’s Hasanuddin military commander.
Photos and videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency on Sunday showed rescuers were trekking along a steep, narrow mountain ridgeline blanketed in thick fog to reach scattered wreckage.
Indonesia relies heavily on air transport and ferries to connect its over 17,000 islands. The Southeast Asian country has been plagued by transportation accidents in recent years, from plane and bus crashes to ferry sinkings.
