Villagers reportedly saw the missing Indonesian plane crash into a mountain

missing plane news conference
(Image credit: Romeo Gacad/AFP/Getty Images)

After an Indonesian plane with 54 people onboard went missing Sunday, villagers told authorities they saw it crash into a mountain, The Associated Press reports. Rescuers will search the ground and air Monday morning to try and verify those reports.

The Trigana Air Service plane was flying Sunday between two Indonesian towns in the midst of heavy rain, strong winds, and fog. Indonesia's Papua province is an especially dangerous area to fly planes, according to experts. Since the region is covered with jungles and mountains, some planes lost there are never found, AP reports.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.