Police locate missing plane

The National Police search and rescue team has located the wreckage of a Skytruck airplane which went missing during a flight from Jayapura to the mountainous regency of Puncak Jaya on Monday.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Nanan Sukarna said Tuesday the plane had been spotted in the Puncak Jaya village of Kanggime, which borders Tolikara regency. The accident site is only five kilometers away from the highway and an airstrip belonging to a missionary.

“The search and rescue team is now trying to reach the site of accident,” Nanan said, adding that the condition of four crew members on board remained uncertain.

The plane was carrying eight drums of fuel to support the operation of the National Police’s Mobile Brigade elite force on duty in Puncak Jaya when it lost contact with Sentani Airport tower about 30 minutes after take-off at 11:20 a.m. local time on Monday.

Bad weather has been blamed for the accident, the 10th to involve an airplane in Papua this year.