The police plane with 15 people on board crashed while on way from Pangkal Pinang in the Sumatran province of Bangka-Belitung Islands to Batam, Riau Islands, on Saturday. The plane, carrying five crew members and eight passengers, dropped out of contact midmorning about 50 minutes after taking off from Bangka island off the southeast coast of Sumatra island, a police statement said. National Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo said rescuers were searching waters between Mensanak and Sebangka islands.
An Indonesian police plane, reportedly carrying 13 people, goes missing near Singapore en route to Batam.