JAKARTA – On Sunday, Indonesian rescue teams located debris from an aircraft that likely crashed the day before, carrying 11 individuals, as it neared a mountainous area on Sulawesi island amidst overcast conditions.

The ATR 42-500 turboprop was en route from Yogyakarta on Java, Indonesia’s primary island, to Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province. The aircraft disappeared from radar on Saturday soon after air traffic controllers instructed it to adjust its approach path.

Operated by Indonesia Air Transport, the last known position of the plane was at 01:17 p.m. over the Leang-Leang area in Maros, a rugged part of South Sulawesi. Onboard were eight crew members and three passengers from the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, engaged in an aerial maritime surveillance operation.

On Sunday morning, a rescue team aboard an air force chopper identified what appeared to be a small plane window in a wooded area on Mount Bulusaraung’s slopes, explained Muhammad Arif Anwar, head of Makassar’s Search and Rescue Office. Ground crews later recovered larger pieces of wreckage, including parts of the main fuselage and tail, scattered across a steep northern incline, Anwar reported during a press briefing.

“Locating the aircraft’s primary components greatly narrows our search efforts and provides an essential lead for concentrating the area of focus,” Anwar noted, adding, “Our combined search and rescue teams are now prioritizing the search for survivors, particularly those who might still be alive.”

Ground and air rescue teams continued moving toward the wreckage site Sunday, despite strong winds, heavy fog and steep rugged terrain that have slowed the search, said Maj. Gen. Bangun Nawoko, the South Sulawesi’s Hasanuddin military commander.

Photos and videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency on Sunday showed rescuers were trekking along a steep, narrow mountain ridgeline blanketed in thick fog to reach scattered wreckage.

Indonesia relies heavily on air transport and ferries to connect its over 17,000 islands. The Southeast Asian country has been plagued by transportation accidents in recent years, from plane and bus crashes to ferry sinkings.