Indonesian police plane crashes near Batam, fifteen missing

Saturday, December 3, 2016

An M-28 Skytruck plane operated by police in Indonesia crashed into the sea near the island of Batam today. The fifteen on board are missing.

The domestic flight from Pangkal Pinang on Bangka to Batam lost contact with Singaporean air traffic control at 10:22 Batam local time; Singapore has controlled some Indonesian airspace since the 1940s. Fisherman have located wreckage and body parts off the coast of Kabupaten Lingga in the Riau Islands which also include Batam.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore activated its Crisis Management Centre and has supplied a Super Puma helicopter and a Fokker 50 plane for search and rescue. Two Singaporean ships are on standby awaiting Indonesian clearance. Three Indonesian naval ships and two patrol boats are also involved.

Basarnas, the Indonesian search and rescue authority, says a 200 square-nautical-mile (about 700 square km) area is being searched. Items recovered thus far include seats, luggage, and documents. Basarnas head Bambang Soelistyo said survivors were possible.

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Sources

Jamie Grierson. "Indonesian police plane goes missing during flight to Batam" — The Guardian, December 3, 2016
Francis Chan. "Indonesia police aircraft with 15 on board crashes in waters off Batam" — The Straits Times, December 3, 2016
CNA/AFP/xk. "Indonesia police aircraft loses contact with Singapore air traffic" — Channel News Asia, December 3, 2016

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Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.