JAKARTA – A plane carrying 16 people disappeared yesterday over a jungle-clad and mountainous region in eastern Indonesia, authorities said.
By nightfall, there was no trace of the Twin Otter plane, which lost contact with officials on the ground as it flew over Papua at a height of 2 895 metres said Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan.Police said they would start a land and air search operation at first light today..Yesterday the plane Sunday was on a 50-minute journey from Sentani, a major airport in Papua, to the town of Oksibil, said Captain Nikmatullah, the director of operations of the airline operating the plane, Merpati Nusantara.The aircraft was carrying enough fuel to keep it in the air for 3 1/2 hours, said Nikmatullah. When darkness fell, it had been missing for around eight hours.Indonesia, a nation of more than 18 000 islands, has seen a string of air crashes in recent years.- Nampa-AP
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