The Indonesia Air Transport plane lost contact with air traffic control at approximately 1:30 pm (0530 GMT) over the Maros area in South Sulawesi province, Andi Sultan, an official from the local rescue agency, informed Reuters.
The aircraft was en route to Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi, after taking off from Yogyakarta province when contact was lost, Sultan stated.
There were eight crew members and three passengers on board, he noted.
Around 400 personnel, including military and police forces, were mobilized to search for the aircraft and its occupants, although the operation was being hindered by adverse weather conditions, Sultan mentioned. He refrained from speculating about the potential cause of the incident.
“We suspect the plane may have gone down near the summit of Mount Bulusaraung. Our personnel have been sent to that location,” he said.
The plane had been chartered by Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, according to ministry official Pung Nugroho Saksono, who spoke to state news agency Antara.
Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono indicated that the three passengers were ministry staff engaged in airborne surveillance of fisheries.
The ATR 42-500 is a regional turboprop aircraft designed to accommodate between 42 and 50 passengers.
Based on unverified Flightradar24 data, an aircraft matching that description was seen flying eastward over the Java Sea at around 11,000 feet before abruptly losing altitude and disappearing from tracking systems.
In France, Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR confirmed it had been notified of an incident in Indonesia and that its specialists were assisting local authorities as they initiated their investigation.
