Six dead in Indonesia cargo crash

SIX people were killed in a cargo plane crash in Indonesia last week. The Aviastar Mandiri BAe 146-300 aircraft was trying to land at the town of Wamena in Papua province en route from the regional capital of Jayapura.

Wamena, like many towns in Indonesia, is largely cut off from the rest of the country so the plane was carrying essential goods, such as clothes, rice and flour.

The regional governor had planned to fly with the aircraft to monitor election polls in Wamena but had cancelled, said Mathias Refra of the governor’s office.

The cause of the crash is still uncertain although Indonesia does have one of Asia’s worst air safety records. The European Union has banned all Indonesian-registered aircraft flying in its airspace.