Airplane with 10 aboard goes missing in Indonesia

Jakarta: Search is underway as a small passenger plane went missing with 10 people on board during a domestic flight in eastern Indonesia on Friday.

The DHC-6 Twin Otter plane lost contact 11 minutes after taking off in good weather on Friday from Masamba in South Sulawesi province, said Transportation Ministry spokesman Julius Barata.  No distress signal was received, the officials said.

The plane, owned by Aviastar Mandiri, a private airline, was headed



for Makassar, the provincial capital. It was carrying three crew members and seven passengers, including three children, Barata said.

Petrus Budi Prasetyo, commercial general manager for the airline said, four aircraft were deployed to search for the missing plane.

"We have dispatched a Twin Otter and a helicopter to comb the area, along with an aircraft each from the military and police," Petrus said. "But we have not yet received any information from the scene."