JAKARTA — Up to 27 people were believed to be dead after a passenger plane crashed into the sea in eastern Indonesia on Saturday, officials said, the latest in a long line of transportation accidents in the archipelago nation.
The Chinese-made Xian MA60 propeller plane operated by Merpati Nusantara Airlines slammed into the sea with 21 passengers and six crew aboard while attempting to land amid rain and limited visibility at the town of Kaimana in the remote province of West Papua in the early afternoon, said Bambang Ervan, a spokesman for the Transportation Ministry.
“It was a regular landing. We don’t yet know what the cause was, or why, but we do know they crashed into the sea about 500 to 600 meters from the end of the runway,” Mr. Ervan said.
“Looking at the conditions there, we’re not expecting any survivors,” he said.
Rescuers, including local military units, that have been scouring the waters near Kaimana have been hampered by rough weather, said Suyatno, the head of the National Search and Rescue Agency in neighboring Papua Province. The search and rescue agency also was taking part in the search.
“We’ve found 15 people dead and identified them. We’re still looking for the rest,” he said. “We can’t say for sure everyone’s dead, but the signs do point that way.”
Indonesia, which sprawls across 17,000 islands, frequently suffers from ferry, train and plane accidents. Poor maintenance, lax safety standards and official corruption are blamed for many transportation accidents.
Merpati is among a slew of Indonesian airlines blacklisted by the European Union over safety concerns. Only six local airlines, including Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, are considered safe by the E.U.
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