Indonesian airliner carrying 54 people loses contact over easternmost Papua province

In this photo taken Dec. 26, 2010, Trigana Air Service's ATR42-300 twin turboprop plane takes off at Supadio airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The same type of a Trigana airliner carrying 54 people was missing Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015 after losing contact with ground control during a short flight in bad weather in the country's mountainous easternmost province of Papua, officials said. A search for the plane was suspended and will resume Monday morning. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

Relatives of passengers on the missing Trigana Air Service flight stand in front of its closed offices at Sentani airport in Jayapura, Papua province, Indonesia, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015. An Indonesian airliner went missing Sunday after losing contact with ground control during a short flight in bad weather in the country's mountainous easternmost province of Papua, officials said. Local media reports said all the passengers are Indonesians. The airline did not immediately release a passenger manifest. Sign on window says "Wamena - Today is Full" and is unrelated to the missing plane. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

People walk outside the terminal at Sentani Airport in Jayapura, Papua province, Indonesia, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015, after a Trigana Air Service flight originating from there went missing. An Indonesian airliner went missing Sunday after losing contact with ground control during a short flight in bad weather in the country's mountainous easternmost province of Papua, officials said. Local media reports said all the passengers are Indonesians. The airline did not immediately release a passenger manifest. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

An official says an Indonesian airliner carrying 54 people has lost contact over the country's easternmost province of Papua.

Transportation Ministry spokesman Julius Barata says a plane belonging to Trigana Air Service lost contact Sunday afternoon while flying from Papua's provincial capital, Jayapura, to the Papua city of Oksibil.

He says the ATR42-300 twin turboprop plane was carrying 49 passengers and five crew members.

He says the plane lost contact 33 minutes after taking off.