Ten people are feared dead after their passenger plane disappeared over Indonesia.
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Aviastar Mandiri is an Indonesian domestic passenger airline.
Family and friends of the missing passengers are awaiting news on the whereabouts of the Twin Otter plane that went missing and a few have arrived at the local airport to identify their loved ones.
Based on the reports received, Barung said the Aviastar aircraft departed from Andi Djemma Airport, Masamba, Luwu Utara, Friday, at around 2:25 pm.
A rescue team was sent to search for the plane on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
The aircraft was en route to Makassar from the town of Masamba and was about 30 minutes away from its scheduled landing time when it lost contact.
Mr Sulistyo said that rescue efforts would likely be carried out on on Saturday morning (Oct 3).
Barata said a pilot is supposed to contact air traffic control after a plane has reached its cruising altitude and again to seek clearance to make a descent and approach its destination.
“It was around 60 nautical miles from Makassar”, ministry spokesman J.R. Barata told MetroTV.
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A sprawling archipelago Indonesia of almost 250 million people in recent years has been plagued by transportation accidents, that includes train and plane crashes and ferry sinkings.
