Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Commander of the Silas Papare Airbase, Commodore Budi Achmadi, has denied a report of a Hercules C-130 transport plane crashing in Papua province.
"We have made sure that all Hercules (C-130) planes operating in Papua are at the airbase," he said here on Monday.
Several photos of debris from a Hercules C-130 plane lying in a mountain range in Papua province have been circulated, but they have been found to be from a crash four years ago, he clarified.
The photos show a TNI AU Hercules C-130HS plane, bearing the registration number A-1334, which had crashed while on its way from Timika to Wamena, West Papua, on December 18, 2016.
The plane had crashed near Mount Lisuwa shortly before landing at the Wamena Airport. At least 12 people had lost their lives in the crash.
The TNI AU described reports that a Hercules C-130 plane had recently crashed in Papua as a "hoax", saying three of its Hercules C-130 planes are at the airbase.
"In (the December 18, 2016) accident, 12 people fell victim," Achmadi said.
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