A passenger plane has mysteriously vanished from radar after locals reportedly heard a loud explosion, with an urgent search underway to find the missing aircraft. The ATR 42-500 turboprop, operated by Indonesia Air Transport, was flying from Yogyakarta to Makassar when contact was lost around 12 miles into the flight, according to aviation officials.
Flight tracking data shows the aircraft suddenly disappeared from radar, while residents near the last known location reported hearing a noise that “sounded like burning material” before a loud explosion. The plane was reported to be carrying three passengers and eight crew members at the time it vanished.
Indonesian authorities have declared an emergency and dispatched search and rescue teams to the suspected crash area, with officials confirming that three teams and around 60 personnel are now scouring mountainous terrain near the aircraft’s last known position.
Officials said the last signal was received at around 11:20am local time, roughly 12 miles north-east of Yogyakarta Airport, adding that the aircraft was flying at low altitude over the ocean, which may have restricted radio contact, before it failed to arrive at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport.
Footage circulating locally appears to show burning debris on a mountainside close to where the plane was last detected, although officials have stressed this has not yet been independently verified as belonging to the missing aircraft.
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