Plane crash kills four in Papua<\/p>\n
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Papua<\/p>\n
At least four people were killed and 12 others injured after a
\nTwin Otter plane with 16 people on board crashed into a mountain
\nin Puncak Jaya regency moments after takeoff on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Sources in the local administration said that the plane was
\nlast seen at 12:30 p.m. local time above Tuogi village, some 8
\nkilometers south of Mulia, the capital of Puncak Jaya regency.<\/p>\n
The plane, belonging to the regency administration, was flying
\nfrom Mulia to Wamena. It took off at 12:27 p.m. and crashed three
\nminutes later.<\/p>\n
The four casualties were identified as Suparno, head of the
\nlocal airline company, PT Air Regional, in Wamena regency,
\ntechnician Agus Sujono, and two passengers, Melena Tabuni and
\nTimotius Murid.<\/p>\n
Local police spokesman Sr. Comr. Daud Sihombing and the
\noperations director of PT Air Regional, FX Bambang, confirmed the
\naccident but gave no detailed information.<\/p>\n
The local authority immediately sent a rescue team to the
\nlocation to find the victims.<\/p>\n
Six of these have since been transported to the Dok II
\nhospital in Jayapura and the rescue team is expected today to
\ntransport others from the crash scene.<\/p>\n
Papuan people frequently have to use aircraft due to the
\ndifficult terrain and lack of infrastructure. They hire planes to
\ntravel and transport supplies between cities in the interior of
\nthe province.<\/p>\n
National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) chairman
\nOetarjo Diran meanwhile said that his committee would send an
\ninvestigating team to the scene.<\/p>\n
Diran added that he had not been able to identify the cause of
\nthe accident. \"All I know is that the plane crashed three minutes
\nafter takeoff,\" he was quoted as saying by Antara.<\/p>\n
The Puncak Jaya regency administration purchased the Twin
\nOtter plane from Papua New Guinea early last year to connect the
\nremote regency with other Papuan towns and cities.<\/p>\n
It started flying on Sept. 2 last year and provided
\ntransportation services between the regencies of Jayapura,
\nWamena, Manokwari and Nabire.<\/p>",
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