Small plane crashes in Indonesia’s Papua; 3 crew found dead

By EDNA TARIGAN
Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A small cargo plane has crashed in a steep mountainous forest in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua province, killing all three people on board. An official says rescuers reached the crash site of the Rimbun Air plane and confirmed that all three crew members were dead. He says bad weather conditions and steep terrain were impeding the recovery of the victims. The Transportation Ministry says contact with the Twin Otter 300 plane was lost about 50 minutes after takeoff. It was heading to Intan Jaya district from Nabre district with construction materials on board. Weather conditions were sunny when the plane took off but were cloudy where the plane crashed.