Twelve people were feared killed when an Indonesian police plane crashed in the countrys Riau Islands province today, a media report said.
The plane, belonging to the police department, had left Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Island, for Batam, Riau Islands, before it crashed into the waters this morning, the Jakarta Post reported.
“An explosion was heard before the plane crash. Pieces of chairs and bodies were found by residents,” Tanjung Pinang naval base commander First Adm S Irawan said.
An earlier police statement said the plane had set off at 9:24 am but that air traffic control lost contact with the plane at 10:15 am. It was carrying five crew and eight passengers. Indonesia’s search and rescue team have been deployed and Singapore said it was also helping as the incident happened close to the city-state. Indonesia has a poor aviation safety record and has experienced several air disasters recently.