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Medan. A
small aircraft with 18 people on board is feared to have crashed on Thursday in
Indonesia’s Sumatra island, officials said. The Cassa 212, carrying 15
passengers and three crew, was flying from Medan city in North Sumatra to the
nearby province of Aceh when it lost contact with air traffic control, Bambang
Ervan said.
“It took
off at 7:18 and was supposed to land at 8:00,” the spokesman said, adding that
a search and rescue team was trying to find the aircraft.
“Most
probably it crashed as it sent an emergency signal,” he said, adding it was not
known whether there were foreigners on board.
Local
search and rescue chief Suhri Sinaga said that the aircraft sent an emergency
signal in the Bahorok area of North Sumatra province.
“We are
trying to locate the aircraft,” he told.
A helicopter
chartered by US giant Newmont Mining crashed on Sunday in central Indonesia,
killing two people on board.
Earlier
this month, an Australian and a Slovak pilot were killed when their small
Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft, which was carrying fuel and food to a remote
area in Papua province, went down.
Another
small aircraft, which was also transporting supplies to remote villages for a
Christian humanitarian association in Papua, crashed last week, killing its
American pilot and two passengers.
Indonesia
relies heavily on air transport and has a poor aviation record.
Agence France-Presse