Debris of ATR 42-500 aircraft found in Indonesia: fate of 11 people remains unknown

On January 18, Indonesian rescuers discovered the wreckage of a Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries reconnaissance aircraft that had disappeared the day before in South Sulawesi province. The turboprop ATR 42-500 aircraft of Indonesia Air Transport was performing a fisheries monitoring mission. This was reported by Reuters, writes UNN.

Details

Contact with the aircraft was lost on Saturday around 1:30 PM local time, when it was near the Maros region, en route to Makassar from Yogyakarta. At 07:46 on Sunday, helicopter crews spotted the first parts of the structure in the area of Mount Bulusaraung.

Libyan army commander killed in Turkey: 'Black boxes' of plane found24.12.25, 15:57 • 2605 views

Rescuers identified several debris zones: a broken window and parts of the fuselage on the mountain slopes, and the tail section of the aircraft at the foot of the mountain range.

According to Flightradar24, the last signal from the aircraft was received when it was flying at a low altitude over the ocean, approximately 20 km from its destination airport.

Rescue operation

There were 11 people on board: eight crew members and three ministry employees. The head of the rescue agency, Muhammad Arif Anwar, announced the involvement of significant forces in the search.

Our priority is to find the victims, and we hope that we can safely evacuate some of them. We are sending 1,200 people to conduct the operation at the crash site.

Search operations are significantly complicated by dense fog and difficult mountainous terrain. Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the disaster.

Indonesian surveillance plane disappears with 11 people on board17.01.26, 22:26 • 2200 views