Indonesian search and rescue teams successfully located debris from a missing aircraft that is suspected to have gone down the day before with 11 individuals on board while approaching a hilly area on Sulawesi island in unfavorable weather conditions.
The turboprop ATR 42-500 was en route from Yogyakarta, located on Java, Indonesia’s main island, to Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province. It disappeared from radar on Saturday after receiving instructions from air traffic control to adjust its approach alignment.
Operated by Indonesia Air Transport, the aircraft was last seen at 01:17 p.m. in the Leang-Leang region of Maros, a mountainous area in South Sulawesi. It carried eight crew members and three passengers from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries who were participating in an aerial maritime surveillance assignment.
On Sunday morning, a rescue team aboard an air force helicopter spotted what seemed to be a small plane window in a forested location on the slope of Mount Bulusaraung, as stated by Muhammad Arif Anwar, head of Makassar’s Search and Rescue Office. Subsequently, ground rescuers identified larger wreckage pieces consistent with the main fuselage and tail spread across a steep northern incline.
“The discovery of the main sections of the aircraft significantly reduces the search area and provides a vital lead for focusing the search efforts,” Anwar emphasized. “Our combined search and rescue teams are now dedicated to locating the victims, particularly those who may still be alive.”
Despite encountering challenging conditions such as strong winds, thick fog, and difficult terrain, both ground and air rescue teams persisted in advancing towards the crash site on Sunday, according to Maj.-Gen. Bangun Nawoko, the Hasanuddin military commander in South Sulawesi.
Images and videos shared by the National Search and Rescue Agency on Sunday depicted rescuers navigating along a steep, fog-covered mountain ridge to reach the scattered wreckage.
Indonesia heavily relies on air travel and sea transport to connect its vast archipelago of over 17,000 islands. The country in Southeast Asia has faced various transportation incidents in recent times, including plane accidents, bus mishaps, and ferry disasters.
