Aircraft loses contact over South Sulawesi, Indonesian authorities launch search

An aircraft flying within Indonesia lost contact with air traffic control on Saturday while en route from Yogyakarta to Makassar, prompting a search-and-rescue operation in South Sulawesi, according to local media reports.

The ATR aircraft, operated by Indonesia Air Transport, was scheduled to land at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar. Contact was reportedly lost at around 1.17pm local time as the plane was flying over Maros Regency.

Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) in Makassar said teams were immediately dispatched to the suspected location after receiving coordinate data from the country’s air navigation service provider, AirNav Indonesia. The search is focused on the Leang-Leang area of Maros Regency.

“We are heading to the location based on the coordinates provided by AirNav,” said Andi Sultan, head of operations at the Basarnas Makassar office. He confirmed that the aircraft had departed from Yogyakarta and was on its way to Makassar when communication was lost.

A joint search operation involving three teams and around 25 personnel has been deployed to the area. Police are also assisting in verifying reports related to the incident.

Maros Police Chief Douglas Mahendrajaya said authorities were in the process of confirming the information. “The reports are correct, but we are still verifying the details,” he was quoted as saying.

Indonesia has witnessed several aviation incidents in recent years, including a crash in Central Papua last September that killed all four people on board. The wreckage was later found in a canyon in Mimika Regency, and the victims were evacuated to a hospital in Timika.

Search efforts in South Sulawesi are continuing as authorities work to establish the aircraft’s location and determine the circumstances surrounding the loss of contact.

With IANS input