Plane with 102 people on board goes missing in Indonesia

A passenger aircraft with 102 people on board — including 11 children — went missing in Indonesia Monday after sending distress signals, the transport minister said.

The Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) 737 was flying between the cities of Surabaya, on the central island of Java, and Manado, on Sulawesi island, when contact was lost.

Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa said the Adam Air plane was believed to be near Mamuju in South Sulawesi province, 750 kilometers southwest of its intended destination in the northeast of the island, or about halfway.

‘The plane with 96 people has lost contact and at this point its position is at Mamuju, based on the distress calls we’ve received,’ he told ElShinta radio, referring to the number of passengers. The plane was also carrying six crew.

‘We have already instructed the search and rescue teams to send aid immediately to those injured in the incident,’ he said.

‘We have no information on the condition of the plane or passengers. We have asked all aircraft crossing the area to relay any information they get,’ the minister said.

‘We do not know the reason (for the plane going missing) so don’t speculate. At this point we need to offer help to the 96 people as soon as possible.’

The Surabaya airport duty manager said there were no technical problems with the plane when it took off.

The aircraft left at 12.59 pm (0559 GMT) and had fuel to last just four hours.

‘We had lost contact and the plane had disappeared from radar at Makassar (in South Sulawesi) at 0707 GMT. It had lost contact at that position and disappeared from the screen,’ Air Transport Department director general Mohammad Iksan Tatang told reporters.

afp/mas