A Trigana Air plane carrying 48 people, including six crew members, skidded off the runway in Indonesia’s remote Papua region on Monday, leaving several passengers injured, police confirmed.
According to the AFP, the ATR-42 aircraft was departing from Yapen Islands Regency, bound for the provincial capital of Jayapura, when the incident occurred. Among the passengers was an infant.
“Thank God, all passengers survived and were immediately taken to the hospital for medical evaluation,” stated local police chief Ardyan Ukie Hercahyo.
While the number of injuries has not been fully disclosed, the local search and rescue agency reported that some passengers were both injured and traumatized by the event.
Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the accident, with Chief Hercahyo assuring that “we are working closely with relevant parties to prevent this from happening again.”
Indonesia, an archipelago with over 17,000 islands, relies heavily on air travel, especially in remote areas like Papua, where mountainous terrain and unpredictable weather frequently complicate flying. In 2015, another Trigana Air flight tragically crashed in the region, resulting in 54 fatalities.
The incident has once again raised concerns over the country’s aviation safety record.
