Indonesian police plane with 15 on board goes missing

Thứ Bảy, 03/12/2016, 19:20
A twin-engine Indonesian police plane went missing on Saturday with 15 people on board en route to the island of Batam, south of Singapore, police and rescue authorities said, as search teams scoured the area.

A search team recovered items apparently identified as being from the missing aircraft, including seats, luggage and documents, the report said, noting that according to the manifest there were 15 people on board.

Photo for illustration.

According to Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), items belonging to passengers had also been found.

"We found debris," BASARNAS chief Bambang Soelistyo told Reuters, adding his team were searching in a 200 square nautical mile area.

Soelistyo said it was too soon to assume there were no survivors and that no remains of those aboard had been found, although there were no reports of survivors.

"With clearance from the Indonesian authorities, one SuperPuma helicopter and one Fokker 50 are currently on-scene supporting the Indonesians to locate the aircraft," the statement said. "Two ships are awaiting clearance by the Indonesian authorities to assist in the search and rescue efforts."

Up to four police vessels were searching the area, he said, along with navy vessels.

According to a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), the last known radar position of the aircraft was about 40 nautical miles southeast of Tanjung Pinang.

Reuters