An Indonesian domestic passenger aircraft carrying 54 people has lost contact with air traffic control in the remote eastern Papua region, according to the country’s national search and rescue agency.
The agency’s chief, Bambang Soelistyo, confirmed that contact with the plane had been lost on Sunday.
The agency tweeted to say the aircraft was operated by Trigana Air Service and carrying 44 adult passengers, five children and infants and five crew members.
The plane was flying between Jayapura’s Sentani airport and Oksibil, the capital of Papua province.
In January an AirAsia flight from from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore crashed, killing all 162 people on board the Airbus A320.
The crash prompted the Indonesian government to introduce regulations aimed at improving safety.
Last month Indonesia’s president promised a review of the ageing air force fleet after a military transport plane crashed in the north of the country, killing more than 100 people.
