Police Chasing Gang Behind Plane Shooting in Papua

Jayapura, Papua - Police and military personnel are hunting down unidentified gunmen who have shot a Twin Otter airplane at Mulia airport, Puncak Jaya district, Papua on Sunday morning. "Security officers are chasing the armed gang members. But we got a problem because they are hiding in a mountainous area near the airport," Puncak Jaya Police chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Alek Korwa said here on Sunday. Security officers from Papua Police Mobile Brigade and from the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) are hunting down the armed gang members who had shot the airplane in Puncak Jaya district Capital of Mulia on Sunday. He noted that security officers and the gunmen exchanged fires many times during the hunt-down. Meanwhile, locals in Mulia who were contacted from Jayapura, capital of Papua, said they could heard the sound of the shootout between the police and the gang members. "Most of citizens have stopped their activities since the occurrence of the incident this morning," Martin, a resident in Mulia, said. A Twin Otter airplane of the Trigana Airlines was shot by unidentified gunmen when it was to land at Mulia airport at 9 a.m. local time. ANTARA sources said the pilot of the plane and five of its passengers were hit by bullets. A journalist was killed in the incident. They have been taken to the Mulia public hospital. (*)