Indonesian plane searching for missing aircraft spots debris: official

[JAYAPURA] A plane searching for an Indonesian passenger aircraft that went missing in the remote eastern province of Papua with 54 people on board at the weekend on Monday spotted debris, an official said.

"Early this morning, a plane swept the route and sighted debris in an area near Oksibil, but we want to double check now," transport ministry spokesman J. A. Barata told AFP.

The plane disappeared as it headed to Oksibil from Papua's capital Jayapura.

Officials had already said that villagers had reported seeing the Trigana Air plane crash into a mountain as it flew in bad weather and found debris.

The plane lost contact with air traffic control just before 3.00pm (0600 GMT) Sunday after taking off from Jayapura on the short flight.

AFP