JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian rescuers Sunday recovered a body in their search for 11 people aboard a plane that crashed while approaching a mountainous region on Sulawesi island.
The body of a man was retrieved from a ravine about 650 feet deep on the slope of Mt. Bulusaraung, near scattered aircraft debris, said Muhammad Arif Anwar, who heads the Search and Rescue Office in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province.
Teams also found additional wreckage, including parts of the aircraft frame and passenger seats, and visually identified what is believed to be the engine of the turboprop ATR 42-500 that crashed Saturday afternoon, Anwar said.
The plane, operated by Indonesia Air Transport, was on its way from Yogyakarta on Indonesia’s main island of Java to Makassar when it vanished from radar shortly after being instructed by air traffic control to correct its approach alignment.
The plane was carrying eight crew members and three passengers from the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry who were aboard as part of an airborne maritime surveillance mission.
Strong winds, heavy fog and steep rugged terrain have slowed the search, said Maj. Gen. Bangun Nawoko, South Sulawesi’s military commander. He said that visibility at the summit was about 16 miles.
Rescuers spotted additional bodies lying along a steep cliff, but haven’t been able to reach them yet, said Brig. Gen. Andre Clift Rumbayan, who leads the specialized search units.
The search was halted as darkness fell Sunday and was to resume Monday morning.
Indonesia relies heavily on air transport and ferries to connect its more than 17,000 islands. The Southeast Asian country has been plagued by transportation accidents in recent years, including plane and bus crashes and ferry sinkings.
Karmini writes for the Associated Press.
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