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)