'Plane wreck' spotted in Indonesia

The plane vanished in bad weather in Irian Jaya

By Richard Galpin in Jakarta

Indonesian officials have said a search and rescue team has spotted what could be the wreckage of a military plane which went missing on Monday in the remote eastern province of Irian Jaya.

A missionary plane was said to have spotted the wreckage

A plane belonging to a missionary organisation taking part in the search operation is reported to have seen possible debris near the central town of Wamena.

The missing plane was carrying the provincial military and police chiefs, as well as the speaker of the local parliament.

A military spokesman has said it was extremely unlikely that the plane was sabotaged by separatists.

Rebels fighting for independence in Irian Jaya have only primitive weapons and are not well organised.

Rugged area

So far there has been no confirmation that the plane has been found.

Wamena is in the highland region of Irian Jaya, with peaks of almost 5,000m close by.

Other military rescue teams, using helicopters and light aircraft, have also focused their efforts around this remote and rugged area.

Poor weather

The small aircraft was flying from the southern town of Timuka back to the provincial capital in the north when air traffic controllers lost contact on Monday afternoon.

Militiary officials ruled out separatists being involved in the incident

Weather conditions were poor at the time.

While officials still classify the plane as missing, it is highly likely it has crashed and those on board been killed.

The possibility of it having made an emergency landing has now been all but ruled out.

A military spokesman told the BBC that both the police and military commanders on board had been carrying satellite phones, but there had been no contact since the plane disappeared.