An extensive search and rescue operation is underway in Indonesia after an Indonesia Air Transport aircraft carrying 11 people vanished mid-flight on Saturday.
The ATR 42-500 turboprop plane, operating as flight PK-THT, was travelling from Yogyakarta to Makassar on Sulawesi island when communication ceased shortly after 1pm local time. The aircraft was carrying three passengers and eight crew members.
Muhammad Arif Anwar, the head of the Makassar search and rescue agency, confirmed that search teams have been dispatched to the mountainous terrain of Maros Regency.
This area borders Makassar and is close to where the aircraft’s signal was last tracked. According to the flight-tracking service Flightradar24, the plane’s final signal was detected approximately 20 kilometres northeast of Makassar Airport.
Andi Sultan, the operations chief at the Makassar search and rescue agency, stated that the search effort involves the air force, police, and civilian volunteers. Rescuers are utilising a helicopter and drones to assist in locating the missing aircraft from the air, while teams also operate on the ground.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of thousands of islands, depends heavily on aviation for connectivity. However, the country has a poor aviation safety record, marked by several fatal incidents in recent years.
In September last year, a helicopter crash in South Kalimantan province claimed the lives of all eight people on board. Less than a fortnight later, another helicopter crash in the remote Ilaga district of Papua resulted in four fatalities.
Authorities have not yet located the wreckage of flight PK-THT, and search efforts continue in the rugged terrain of Sulawesi.
