Indonesian authorities have located the wreckage of a fishery surveillance aircraft that vanished yesterday in the province of South Sulawesi. The ATR 42-500, operated by Indonesia Air Transport, lost contact with air traffic control at approximately 1:30 pm local time (7:30 am Cyprus time) while flying over the Maros region. Rescue crews spotted the debris scattered across a rugged mountainous area shrouded in thick fog, roughly 1,500 kilometres from the capital, Jakarta.
The aircraft was carrying eight crew members and three passengers—all staff from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries—on a chartered mission to monitor local waters. The flight had departed from Yogyakarta and was heading towards Makassar, the provincial capital, before it disappeared. According to FlightRadar24 data, the twin-engine turboprop was flying at a low altitude over the sea, with its last signal recorded 20 kilometres northeast of Makassar airport.
Muhammad Arif Anwar, head of the local rescue service, confirmed that 1,200 personnel are deploying to the crash site to recover the 11 people on board. He emphasised that the priority remains locating victims and searching for any potential survivors. However, rescue executive Andi Sultan warned that treacherous terrain, persistent fog, and high winds are severely hindering the recovery operation. The French-Italian-built ATR 42-500 is typically used for regional flights, designed to carry between 42 and 50 passengers.
(information from in.gr)
