Indonesian Police Plane Missing With 13 On Board

Jakarta: An Indonesian police plane with 13 people on board lost contact during a flight to the island of Batam near Singapore on Saturday.

The plane, with five crew members and eight passengers, dropped out of contact in the morning about 50 minutes after taking off from Bangka island off the southeast coast of Sumatra island, a police statement said. National Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo said rescuers were searching seas between Mensanak and Sebangka islands. He said villagers had found a seat and a bag containing a cellphone and police documents.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) confirmed that aircraft P4201 lost contact in the Singapore Flight Information Region at 11.22am Singapore time, 36 minutes before it was supposed to arrive in Batam.

Indonesian media reported that the plane crashed in waters off Kabupaten Lingga, Riau Islands. Indonesia news outlet Detik cited Riau Islands Police chief Brigadier General Sambudi Gusdian as confirming the information.