Batam, Riau Islands (Antara Bali) - A police plane with 15 people on board crashed on its flight from Pangkal Pinang in the Sumatran province of Bangka-Belitung Islands to Batam, Riau Islands, on Saturday.
"There were 15 people on board the Sky Truck M-28, including crew members and passengers. They were all policemen," the head of public relations of the Riau Islands regional police command, Adjunct Senior Commissioner S Erlangga, confirmed here on Saturday evening.
The crew of the plane were Adjunct Commissioner Budi Waluyo (pilot), Adjunct Commissioner Eka Barokah (pilot), Adjunct Commissioner Tonce (pilot), Brigadier Joko Sujarwo (mechanic), and Brigadier Mustofa (mechanic), while passengers included Adjunct Commissioner Abdul Munir, Adjunct Commissioner Safram, Chief Brigadier Erwin, First Brigadier Andri, Second Brigadier Rizal, Brigadier Eri, Brigadier Suwarno, Brigadier Joko Sungatno, Second Brigadier Angga and Brigadier Samoko.
"The plane took off at 09.24 West Indonesian Time from Pangkal Pinang," Erlangga said.
He said the police personnel on board were to replace those embedded with the air police directorate of the Riau Islands regional police command.
According to the air police directorate of the regional police command, Senior Commissioner Tedy Marbun, seats, bags containing Instruction Letter: Sprin/1495/XI/2016 dated November 30, 2016, issued in Pondok Cabe, and a document written Sky Truck M-28 Number Reg. P4201, were retrieved from the crash site.
"The belongings of all the passengers have also been found, but none of the victims had been accounted for," he added.
The joint personnel from the Riau Islands regional police command, the chapter of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) in Tanjungpinang, the navy, the resort police of Lingga and local community members are still exploring the location of the incident for evacuation purposes.
"We are still conducting evacuation at the location of the crash, which is already confirmed," he stated.
"We call for prayers from everyone, and we hope to find survivors," he said. (WDY)