| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
BOGOR, Indonesia : The wreckage of a military transport plane has been spotted in thick jungle in Indonesia, officials said Friday amid reports that residents have found the bodies of the 18 people on board.
The Casa C-212 transport plane disappeared from radar screens at 3:03 pm (0803 GMT) on Thursday around Mount Salak about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Jakarta, officials said.
"Our pilot has seen fragments of the plane in Tegal Lilin forest as reported by local residents, but failed to land in the area," air force spokesman Chaeruddin Ray told AFP.
Three foreigners -- from Britain, India and Singapore -- were among the six civilians on board the plane when it took off from a Jakarta air base on a short flight to test ground imaging equipment, but it never returned.
The other 12 on the plane were from the military.
Soldiers were on their way to the crash site but were not expected to reach the wreck for several hours.
Indonesian air force deputy chief I Gusti Made Oka told Radio ElShinta that bodies had been seen at the crash site.
"The residents saw bodies scattered around the wreckage, and a severed leg. The plane was completely smashed," he said.
"Our team is heading to the location to evacuate the bodies. We have to move quickly so that we can help any survivors."
Rescue efforts were being hampered by difficult conditions, rescue coordinator Hadi Tugiman said.
"The jungle is quite thick and the weather is so foggy that it's making the search difficult," he told AFP.
Air Force spokesman Ray said the plane was testing digital mapping equipment when it disappeared.
The foreigners reportedly work for Credent Technology offering services in high-resolution satellite imagery and laser scanning for mapping.
"People living around the Mount Salak area saw a plane flying on Thursday and then they heard sounds of an explosion," one police officer in the region said.
One witness, identified only as Asep, told Okezone news website: "I saw a plane flying low and on the bottom part of the plane I saw fire, then shortly after I heard the sound of thunder."
The foreign office in London and the Singaporean foreign ministry confirmed that British and Singaporean nationals were on board. An Indian diplomat could not comment when contacted by AFP.
Indonesia has one of the world's worst aviation safety records following a string of deadly disasters in recent years. The archipelago relies heavily on air as well as sea links.
- AFP /ls
|
