Indonesian rescuers find wreckage of plane that had 11 people on board

A rescue team on an air force helicopter has spotted what appears to be a small aircraft window in a forested area on the slope of Mount Bulusaraung.Published On 18 Jan 2026Indonesian rescuers have recovered wreckage from a missing plane that is believed to have crashed with 11 people on board while approaching a mountainous region on Sulawesi island during cloudy conditions.The discovery on Sunday comes after the small plane – on its way from Yogyakarta on Indonesia’s main island of Java to Makassar, the capital city of Sulawesi" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="13156" data-entity-type="location">South Sulawesi province – vanished from radar on Saturday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Indonesia searches for missing plane with at least 10 on boardlist 2 of 3Indonesia sues six companies over environmental harm in flood zoneslist 3 of 3Indonesia blocks access to Musk’s AI chatbot Grok over deepfake imagesend of listA rescue team on an air force helicopter on Sunday morning spotted what appeared to be a small aircraft window in a forested area on the slope of Mount Bulusaraung, said Muhammad Arif Anwar, who heads Makassar’s search and rescue office.Rescuers on the ground then retrieved larger debris consistent with the main fuselage and tail scattered on a steep northern slope, Anwar told a news conference.“The discovery of the aircraft’s main sections significantly narrows the search zone and offers a crucial clue for tightening the search area,” Anwar said. “Our joint search and rescue teams are now focusing on searching for the victims, especially those who might still be alive.”The plane, a turboprop ATR 42-500, was operated by Indonesia-air-transport" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="13153" data-entity-type="organization">Indonesia Air Transport and was last tracked in the Leang-Leang area of Maros, a mountainous district of Sulawesi" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="13156" data-entity-type="location">South Sulawesi province.It was carrying eight crew members and three passengers from the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry who were on board as part of an airborne maritime surveillance mission.In this photo provided by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), members of its rescue team conduct a searching operation around Mount Bulusaraung, Sulawesi" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="13156" data-entity-type="location">South Sulawesi province, Indonesia, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, after a passenger aircraft lost contact while approaching the mountainous region between Indonesia’s main island of Java and Sulawesi island [BASARNAS via AP]Ground and air rescue teams continued moving towards the wreckage site on Sunday, despite strong winds, heavy fog and steep, rugged terrain that had slowed the search, said Major-General Bangun Nawoko, Sulawesi" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="13156" data-entity-type="location">South Sulawesi’s Hasanuddin military commander.