Indonesia finds wreckage of missing ATR aircraft on Mount Bulusaraung; 1 body recovered | What we know

Indonesian rescue teams found wreckage of a missing ATR 42-500 aircraft on Mount Bulusaraung. The plane, on a fisheries surveillance mission, crashed with 10 people aboard. One body was recovered; rescue efforts face tough terrain and poor weather. Investigation ongoing.

Did our AI summary help?

Search and rescue teams in Indonesia have located the wreckage of a missing Indonesia Air Transport ATR 42-500 aircraft on the slopes of Mount Bulusaraung in South Sulawesi province, officials confirmed on Sunday.

The turboprop aircraft, chartered by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, was conducting an aerial fisheries surveillance mission when it lost contact with air traffic control at about 1:17 pm local time on January 17. The plane was flying from Yogyakarta to Makassar.

According to Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, Basarnas, rescuers detected aircraft debris on Sunday morning in a steep and heavily forested area within Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park. Ground teams later found scattered wreckage near the mountain peak, including parts believed to be the fuselage, tail section and aircraft windows, at around 8:02 am local time.

Basarnas said that later in the afternoon, the body of a male victim was recovered from a ravine about 200 metres deep, surrounded by aircraft debris. The evacuation is underway using a difficult climbing route, with rescue efforts hampered by thick fog and rainfall.

Authorities initially reported that 11 people were on board the aircraft. However, updated information confirmed there were 10 occupants, comprising seven crew members and three passengers. The passengers were government officials from the fisheries ministry, a ministry spokesperson said. The identities of those on board have not yet been released.

Rescue operations involve hundreds of personnel from Basarnas, the Indonesian military, police, marine units, local volunteers and other agencies. Teams are facing extremely challenging conditions, including rugged karst terrain, poor visibility and strong winds.

Basarnas officials have established a one kilometre search radius around the crash site and divided the area into multiple zones to improve coordination. Helicopters, drones and ground teams are being deployed to reach remote sections of the site.

Indonesia’s transport safety watchdog, the National Transportation Safety Committee, has been notified and is expected to lead the investigation. Efforts are ongoing to locate and recover the aircraft’s flight recorders, although officials have not yet confirmed their retrieval.

Preliminary assessments suggest the aircraft may have crashed into terrain while under control, a scenario known as controlled flight into terrain. Officials stressed that the exact cause of the accident will only be determined after a full investigation.