A large amount of cash, or the equivalent of $470,000, was being carried by four people in the Trigana plane that crashed on Sunday.
However, members of the National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) said there was no suggestion that it was the large cash, or 6.5 billion rupiah, which triggered the crash of the plane with 44 adult passengers, five children and five crew who are all Indonesians. Their fate is still unknown.
The transfer of the money is part of the Indonesian government's assistance program for the poor to be distributed to villagers, reports NBC. PT Pos had to use air travel to bring the money to the easternmost part of the country, said Abu Sofjan, spokesman of the government agency.
The plane crashed at the Papua province. The government deployed rescue teams to the mountainous area where the jet crashed. It was the same area where a Super Puma helicopter also crashed in 2014, adds Sito, a communications operator of BASARNAS assigned in Jayapura.
The terrain is dangerous because of the sudden weather changes such as the mornings being clear and hot then rain suddenly pours. The poor weather conditions and rugged terrain delayed attempts by rescuers to reach the crashed plane, reports USA Today.
The ill-fated jet was spotted about seven miles from its destination. Bambang Soelistyo, chief of BASARNAS and leader of the rescue operation from Sentani Airport in Jayapura, said that they spotted smoke billowing from the wreckage located at an altitude of 8,500 feet.
Due to the difficulty of reaching the site, elite forces from Indonesia's Air Force and Army would build a helipad near the crash site to use for evacuation of the people aboard the Trigana plane