Indonesian authorities have located wreckage from an up to 19 people aboard, including the Malaysian Embassy’s defense attache. The plane went missing on a flight from Yogyakarta to Makassar, capital of South Sulawesi province. The aircraft was on lease from Indonesia’s Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry. The airplane had a total of 11 people on board, including 8 crew members and 3 passengers.
The aircraft went down in the Maros area, near Mount Bulusaraung. Search and rescue teams quickly recovered wreckage spread across several miles in this long and rugged mountainous terrain. The tail of the aircraft rested at the base of the steep mountain slope. Even as a student, this sight reminded me of the seriousness of the crash.
Contact with the aircraft was lost just minutes before its scheduled landing at Makassar airport. The final transmission from the aircraft registered at 0420 GMT, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of the airport. When we checked tracking on the flight, it was making its last segment with altitude just above the surface of the ocean.
The search for survivors has been hampered by heavy fog and the difficult mountainous terrain typical of the region.
“At around 7:49 a.m., we discovered large parts of the aircraft, suspected to be the fuselage of the plane,” reported Andi Sultan, a spokesperson for the search operation. Finding Idris alive was a huge blessing and miracle in the search efforts that are still continuing.
Muhammad Arif Anwar, another official involved in the search efforts, stated, “Our priority is to search for the victims, and we hope that there are some that we can evacuate safely.” Currently, attention is on finding every possible survivor in what’s left of collapsed buildings.
Additionally, Andi Sultan noted the team’s progress, saying, “Our helicopter crews have seen the debris of the plane’s window at 7:46 a.m.” These discoveries are critical pieces of information about where the crash site is and inform ongoing rescue recovery operations.
Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee will oversee a full and independent investigation into the cause of the crash. Authorities are currently active sifting through the wreckage. They wait desperately for news of the passengers’ fate while their search and rescue activities continue.
