Many injured in Indonesia as plane swerves off runway

A plane with 48 passengers aboard goes of course in Indonesia’s remote eastern region of Papua on Monday, police said, injuring several passengers.

The Southeast Asian archipelago’s aviation safety record is marred by incidents, and Papua’s challenging terrain, characterized by mountains and unpredictable weather patterns, further complicates flight safety.

Monday morning’s takeoff from the remote Yapen Islands regency airport which went awry when a Trigana Air ATR-42 aircraft lost traction and slid off the runway, intended to fly to Jayapura, Papua’s capital..

The flight which has 42 passengers onboard, including a baby, and six crew.

“Praise God everybody survived and has been taken to a hospital for a health checkup,” local police chief Ardyan Ukie Hercahyo said in a statement.

“We are investigating the incident and coordinating with related parties to ensure this will never happen again.”

The local search and rescue agency said in a statement that some passengers were injured and traumatised by the incident.

Indonesia relies heavily on air transport to connect its thousands of islands, but Papua is a particularly difficult area to reach.

In 2015, a Trigana Air plane crashed there, killing all 54 people on board.