Indonesian air force plane missing with 18 people onboard

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-27  |     ONLINE EDITION

POLICE and military teams searched today for an Indonesian air force plane that went missing with five crew and 13 passengers, including at least three foreigners, a military spokesman said.

The Casa-212 military aircraft disappeared during an aerial surveillance mission yesterday after taking off from an airstrip just east of the capital, Jakarta, air force spokesman Chaeruddin Ray said.

An Indian, Singaporean and Briton were on the passenger list, he said.

Today, hundreds of police and soldiers began combing the dense jungle at the base of Salak Mountain, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Jakarta, nearly a day after the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers.

"The aircraft has not been found yet. The area is too large," said police spokesman Yusuf, who like many Indonesian goes by a single name.

Indonesia has seen a spate of airline accidents in recent years, including an Adam Air crash that killed 102 and another by national carrier Garuda that killed 21, leading the European Union to ban all Indonesian airlines.

It was the second incident involving a Casa-212 plane this year in Indonesia after a flight operated by the private Dirgantara Air Service crashed in January with three people aboard.