An Indonesian military transport plane crashed in bad weather Sunday in the country’s easternmost province of Papua, killing all 13 people on board, officials said.
The Hercules C-130 plane was carrying 12 tons of food supplies and cement from Timika to Wamena, a distance of about 200 kilometers (125 miles), when it crashed just minutes before its scheduled landing, said air force chief of staff Agus Supriatna.
Three pilots and 10 other personnel were aboard the plane.
Bad weather and low clouds in Wamena, the capital of the mountainous district of Jayawijaya, were believed to be factors in the crash, deputy air force chief of staff Hadiyan Sumintaatmadja told a news conference.
“The tower in Wamena spotted the plane, but it was not certain that the plane saw the runway,” he said. He did not rule out that the plane hit a mountain.
An investigation was underway. Sumintaatmadja said the plane was airworthy and had 69 hours left until its next routine maintenance.
