Rescuers find missing plane with all 5 on board killed
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Five people aboard a plane in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua were killed when it crashed in a remote area, rescuers said Thursday.
The Pilatus Porter PC-6 from PT Associated Mission Aviation went missing on a short flight Wednesday from Wamena, the capital of the mountainous district of Jayawijaya, to Darakma in neighboring Nduga district.
AMA Director Djarot Soetanto said Thursday the plane was found at an altitude of 8,500 feet (2,590 meters) about 9 miles (14 kilometers) from Wamena.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Melkianus Kotta, head of the local search and rescue agency, said all five people on board were killed and their bodies were transported to Wamena by helicopter.
The cause of the crash is being investigated.
The plane was carrying two pilots including a Dutch citizen and three Indonesian passengers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation, with more than 250 million people, has been plagued by transportation accidents because of overcrowding on ferries, aging infrastructure and poorly enforced safety standards.
Flying is the only practical way of accessing many areas in the mountainous and jungle-clad easternmost provinces of Papua and West Papua.