Bouraq plane goes missing in Irian

Bouraq plane goes missing in Irian

JAKARTA (JP): Search and Rescue (SAR) workers yesterday combed
the coast and the hinterland of the Fak Fak regency in Irian Jaya
looking for a Hawkey Siddeley 748 plane belonging to Bouraq
airlines that went missing Wednesday.

The plane, which was on a chartered operation for a local
fishing company, was carrying seven crew members and three
passengers when it disappeared on Wednesday, Antara reported. It
was flying from Tual, the main city in the Kai Islands in
southeast Maluku, to Kaimana on the southern coast of Fak Fak.

The SAR team, which left on a helicopter belonging to the
Pelita Air Service from Tual, turned its attention to the coast
and hinterland yesterday, convinced that the plane did not crash
in the sea. The team includes doctors, medical staff and police
officers and is headed by Lt. Col R.E. Hasibuan, the commander of
the Dumatubun airport in Tual.

The plane was believed to have made at least half of its
journey based on the last contact it made with the Dumatubun
control tower, which was 23 minutes after it took off. Another
possibility is that the plane made an emergency landing on Adi
island just off Fak Fak regency.

The plane was chartered by PT Istana Samudra Indonesia to pick
up its employees to work in Tual.

The seven crew on board are identified as pilots Herizal,
Mualis and Faturachman, technician Hakim, stewardesses Emilia and
Popy and load master Harli Oktavianus. The three passengers are
Febby S (a director of the fishing company), Hendra Halim
(manager of Bouraq in tual), and Hartadi, a police officer. (emb)