Indonesia plane crash: Boy, 12, survives Papua accident

Image source, AFP

Image caption, Rescuers walked for two hours to reach the site of the crash

A 12-year-old boy has been found alive in the wreckage of a plane crash which killed eight people in Indonesia.

Photos from the scene show the boy conscious and looking at the camera.

He was found with the wreckage on a mountainside near the border with Papua New Guinea on Sunday morning.

The aircraft he had been travelling in lost contact with air traffic control on Saturday afternoon, shortly before it was due to land at Oksibil airport.

The plane, owned by private charter Dimonim Air, had been travelling from Tanah Merah, about 40 minutes flight south, to Oksibil in the province of Papua when it went down.

It was carrying nine people, including two crew members.

Image source, AFP

Image caption, The boy was bought down on a stretcher

According to news agency AFP, nearby villagers heard a "loud roar followed by an explosion".

An investigation into the cause of the crash will be carried out, officials said.

Planes are one of the few ways to get around Papua province, a remote and mountainous region which is extremely difficult to navigate.

However, its rapidly changing weather conditions mean it is not an easy place to fly.

Three years ago, a Trigana Air twin turboprop plane came down near to Oksibil, killing all 54 on board.