An Indonesian plane with 54 people on board has gone missing in the Papua region, officials have confirmed.
It is carrying 44 adult passengers, 5 children and infants, and 5 crew members.
Communication was lost with the plane, belonging to Trigana Air ATR 42 turboprop, around 3pm local time (06:00 GMT), after it took-off from Sentani airport in the regional capital Jayapura.
The aircraft was en route Oksibil in the south of the region. Oksibil is about 40 kilometres from the border with Papua New Guinea and is the capital of the Bintang Mountains Regency.
Spokesman of Ministry of Transport Julius Barata Said, “We are not sure what happened to the plane yet and we are co-ordinating with local authorities.”
Bad weather has hampered the search, which has been called off until tomorrow.
