Poor weather hampers search for missing plane in Papua

By Saturday afternoon, the crash site was confirmed to be located at 11,400 meter above the sea level on a slope of Gergaji Mount on the borders of Ilaga and Mulia mountainous districts in Puncak regency.

The search and rescue has decided to stay in Ilaga and continue the operation on Sunday.

Timika Air Base commander Lt. Col. Easter Hariyanto told tempointeraktif.com that althouhg it was unclear whether there was survivor in the incident, aerial photos showed there were smokes, suspectedly from tree brances burnt by people.

The ill-fated plane, piloted by Nay May Linn Aung of Myanmar and Makmur of Indonesia as co-pilot, carried nine passengers, including two children.

Papua is considered one of the world's most dangerous places to fly. Many areas are mountainous and prone to dangerously low clouds and sudden weather changes. (dre)