A plane carrying about 25 passengers and crew crashed into the sea during a downpour Saturday in eastern Indonesia, killing everyone on board, a navy officer told local radio.
“I can confirm that all the passengers were killed when the plane exploded as it crashed into the sea,” a navy officer involved in the search told ElShinta radio.
“The aircraft was smashed to pieces… We found 15 bodies floating on the water and the other passengers are trapped inside the wreckage.”
A transport ministry spokesman earlier said there were 27 people — 21 passengers and six crew — on board the Merpati Nusantara airlines MA-60 aircraft.
