JAKARTA, Feb 22 (AFP) - Fifteen people were killed and three critically injured Tuesday when a plane operated by the Indonesian police crashed in the sea as it was preparing to land in easternmost Papua province, police said.
The Casa 212 cargo aircraft with 18 people on board was approaching an airstrip in Sarmi district and crashed in the sea around 500 metres (yards) short of the runway, police spokesman Sunarko Danu Ardanto told AFP.
The crew contacted the airstrip to report that one of the plane's engines failed moments before it crashed, the Detikcom news website said.
Four crew members, all police officers, were killed in the crash, Ardanto said.
The twin-engine plane was broken in two with its tail protruding from the water, Detikcom added.
Air transport is vital in sprawling jungle-clad Papua, where some regions can only be reached by plane.
Before Tuesday's crash, 53 people were killed in Indonesia in four air accidents last year -- three involving military aircraft.
02/22/2005 03:40 GMT - AFP