Joint team searches for plane crash victims

The Langkat Police say that they, along with the National Army, Medan National Search and Rescue Agency (SAR) are combing the hills around Bukit Kapur village, Langkat, East Sumatra, in search of victims of a Casa airplane that is believed to have crashed on Thursday.

A Nusantara Buana Airlines Casa 200 aircraft carrying 14 passengers and four crew is though to have crashed in Langkat while on route from Polonia Medan airport to Alas Leuser airport.

“As soon as we received the information at 10 a.m., we sent 60 personnel. There is also a National Army team and the National Search and Rescue Agency,” Langkat police chief Sr. Comr. Mardiyono said Thursday, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

He said that two residents of the Bukit Kapur village, Langkat, East Sumatera, had said they had seen a plane losing altitude while they were cultivating their paddy fields, but did not remember seeing any smoke from the aircraft.

He said that the reports came from two residents and were being followed up by the police.

Mardiyono suspected that the plane had crashed near the border with Aceh.

“Bukit Kapur is in the Gunung Leuser National Park [TNGL] area, within the authority of TNGL. The area borders Aceh Province,” he said.