Plane crash in western Indonesia kills five

JAKARTA: Five people were killed on Saturday when a small passenger plane belonging to local airline Sabang Merauke Raya Air Charter (SMAC) crashed in western Indonesia, authorities said.

Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said the 28-seat Cessna 212 was on a test flight from Batam island when it crashed on Bintan Island, both located in Riau Islands province. There were five people on board, none of them passengers for the airline.

"The plane belongs to PT SMAC and crashed while being on a test flight after an engine had been changed," Ervan said, adding that the plane had departed Batam island at 0615 UTC.

Several teams are heading to the crash site to investigate the accident.

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