By AFP
Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where the missing plane and passengers were last seen. Photo: ALGI FEBRI SUGITA
Indonesian authorities are searching for a plane carrying three government workers and seven crew members, after contact with the aircraft was lost.
The Indonesia Air Transport turboprop plane left Yogyakarta and was headed to the city of Makassar on Sulawesi island, according to rescuers.
Three employees of the ministry of marine affairs and fisheries were onboard, on a mission to conduct aerial monitoring of resources in the area, Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said.
Seven crew members were also onboard, according to the airline.
Contact with the plane was lost shortly after 6pm Saturday NZT.
Local search and rescue agency head Muhammad Arif Anwar told AFP teams were deployed to a mountainous area of Maros Regency, which borders Makassar, near the last known location of the plane.
The search on land and by air involved the airforce, police and volunteers, he added.
Makassar search and rescue operations chief Andi Sultan said a helicopter and drones were being used to find the plane.
The aircraft manufacturer, France-based firm ATR, said it had been informed of "an accident" involving one of its planes.
"ATR specialists are fully engaged to support both the investigation led by the Indonesian authorities and the operator," the company said.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago in Southeast Asia, relies heavily on air transport to connect its thousands of islands.
The country has a poor aviation safety record, with several fatal crashes in recent years.
Last September, a helicopter carrying six passengers and two crew members crashed shortly after taking off from South Kalimantan province, killing everybody on board.
Less than two weeks later, four people were killed, when another helicopter crashed in the remote Papua district of Ilaga.
- AFP
