LEAD: 9 killed in Indonesian plane crash in Irian Jaya

JAKARTA, Jan. 10 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATES WITH WRECKAGE REACHED, NO SURVIVORS FOUND)

An Indonesian navy plane carrying nine people, including a local military commander, a police chief and a parliamentary leader, that had been missing since Monday in Irian Jaya was found burned early Wednesday, a police spokesman said.

Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf told reporters the plane was spotted from the air by a search-and-rescue team at 6:10 a.m. near the village of Kelimo in East Irian Jaya Province about 3,600 kilometers east of Jakarta and at about 3,700 meters above sea level.

He said a rescue team was heading for the site by land.

Saleh said the plane apparently crashed into the Trikora mountain range and burned.

Later, the state-run news agency Antara reported from the crash site that all on board the plane were dead. The number of people on board was also confirmed as nine, not 11 as earlier reported by the military.

Among the victims were Military Regional Commander Maj. Gen. Toni Rompies, Police Chief Insp. Gen. Fransiscus Xaverius Soemardi, speaker of the local legislative council Nathaniel Kaiwai, Chief of the High Prosecutors' Office Bismar Mannu and Adjutant to the governor Sgt. Maj. Jeshekia Malu.

Four crew members also died.

The plane took off from Central Irian Jaya provincial capital Timika at 10:25 a.m. Monday and was bound for the East Irian Jaya provincial capital Jayapura.

Timika Airport officials lost contact with the plane at 10:34 a.m.

The plane was on an inspection tour of several regions in Irian Jaya, the western part of New Guinea, when it went missing.

From Jan. 1 the region, called Papua by most local residents, has been divided into three provinces -- West Irian Jaya, Central Irian Jaya and East Irian Jaya after the House of Representatives during the administration of then President B.J. Habibie passed a law on the creation of the three provinces in 1999.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Kyodo News International, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group