ATR 42-500 Aircraft Evacuation, Hundreds of Joint SAR Personnel Deployed to Bulusaraung

The debris of the ATR 42-500 aircraft, which was reported missing, was finally found on the peak of Bukit Bulusaraung, Pangkep, South Sulawesi. (Photo: ANTARA)

MAROS - The personnel of the Joint SAR team were deployed to Mount Bulusaraung, the border area of Maros-Pangkejene Regency, South Sulawesi, after confirming the discovery of the debris of an ATR 42-500 aircraft that crashed in the local airspace.

"Here there are about 400-500 personnel ready to help in the evacuation process later, the rest are deployed to Bulusaraung," said Head of Operations and Standby Section of the Makassar Basarnas Office, Andi Sultan, as reported by ANTARA, Sunday, January 18.

The latest development, a joint SAR team has been sent to the location of the discovery of the aircraft debris, including combing the area of the incident.

In addition, the SAR team has mapped the evacuation route, considering the condition of the terrain which is quite heavy.

According to him, the best option taken for the evacuation route after being considered is to take the climbing route to the location.

Although there are other paths near the location, the terrain is quite difficult to pass.

"Actually there is a path closer to the location, but the terrain is quite steep and risky. However, the team still uses the climbing route because the access is easy to reach," he said.

Location of the discovery of aircraft debris

The debris of the ATR 42-500 airframe has been found since the search on Sunday morning by lowering the ground and air teams.

The Aju team carrying the drone was deployed at 06.15 WITA, followed by another team using a helicopter by air.

From the results of the aerial search, small debris was finally found as an initial discovery at 07.46 WITA in the form of a window part of the ATR aircraft which was reported missing since yesterday.

"And at 07.49 WITA, information received from the team found another large-sized debris suspected to be the fuselage and the tail of the aircraft (the fuselage is separate)," said Andi Sultan.

The discovery of the plane, he said, its position is on the southern slope of Mount Bulusaraung, or located at the bottom of the slope. But, when viewed from the top of the mountain, the position of the fuselage is on the north side.

The distance of the location where the debris of the unfortunate aircraft was found is estimated to be about 1.5 kilometers from the starting point of the search. Upon the discovery, the Aju team was deployed to the fuselage, but was still hampered by a difficult terrain.

"The information is that access to the location of the discovery of the aircraft body is quite steep and the distance is far. We must certainly calculate the safety factor of our personnel before carrying out the evacuation," he explained.

Previously, based on data on the ground, at 07.46 WITA, the SAR team found a small piece of the aircraft's window in the coordinates of 04°55'48" LS - 119°44'52" BT in the Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park area, Maros-Pangkep Regency.

The information was also found in the large fuselage, the aircraft's wing section had been opened and the tail section of the aircraft was found to the south of the lower slope of the location of the incident. The debris was found by the air and ground teams.

The ATR aircraft was known to be boarded by 11 people with the route from Yogyakarta to Makassar City reported missing contact on Saturday (17/1/2026) at 13.17 WITA at the coordinates of 04°55'48" LS - 119°44'52" BT in the Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park area, Maros-Pangkep Regency.

There are eight crew members and three passengers, namely Captain Andy Dahananto, Yudha Mahardika, Captain Sukardi, Hariadi, Franky D Tanamal, Junaidi, Florencia Lolita, Esther Aprilita. The passengers are in the name of Deden, Ferry and Yoga.

The SAR operation involves elements from Basarnas Makassar, TNI, Polri, AirNav, Paskhas, BPBD, and the support of the local community. Currently, the SAR operation to search for victims is still ongoing.