An Indonesian passenger plane with 10 people on board has gone missing in eastern Indonesia.
Officials said the plane was heading to the provincial capital, Makassar with three crew members, seven passengers and two babies. The plane is owned by the private Aviastar Mandiri airline.
Spokes person, Ministry of Transportation Julius Barata said 11 minutes after take-off, the DHC-6 Twin Otter plane lost contact from Masamba in South Sulawesi province; adding that there was no any distress signal or bad weather.
Head of the airport authority in Makassar, Ahmad Munir, said satellite data showed the aircraft’s last known position was about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Masamba.
A rescue team has been sent to search for the plane.
Indonesia is one of Asia’s most rapidly expanding airline markets, but is struggling to obtain qualified pilots, mechanics, air traffic controllers and modern airport technology.
In July, a military transport plane crashed in a residential area of Medan, Sumatra, claiming 140 lives. A month later, a plane carrying 54 people on board came down in the remote west Papua region.
