Originally Posted by
SimCaptain
EPA INDONESIA BLASHPEMY PROTEST POL CITIZENS INITIATIVE & RECALL IDN DK
(Photo: Bagus Indahono, EPA)
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Thirteen people are feared dead after an Indonesian police plane lost contact during a Saturday flight to Batam, an island near Singapore.
Police said the plane, carrying five crew members and eight passengers, lost contact midmorning, about 50 minutes after taking off from Bangka Island off the southeast coast of Sumatra Island.
National Search and Rescue Agency Chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo said rescuers were searching waters between Mensanak and Sebangka islands. Villagers, he said, found a seat and a bag containing a cellphone and police documents.
TV footage showed that police uniforms and other articles of clothing also had been retrieved from the sea.
Local media, citing the Tanjung Pinang naval base commander, reported bodies had been recovered by villagers.