Wednesday, January 20, 2021

1) Pioneer flights again started to Papua’s isolated areas: Government



2) Security imperative for Papua flight operators: airport authority 

3) 1,040 quakes in West Papuas Sorong district in 2020: BMKG

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1) Pioneer flights again started to Papuas isolated areas: Government

Timika, Papua (ANTARA) - Pioneer flights have again begun serving passengers and cargo services to several isolated areas in the Indonesian province of Papua since January 16, 2021, according to the Timika-based Mozes Kilangin Airport authority.

"We have resumed return pioneer flights serving passengers and cargo services for the Timika-Kaimana-Fakfak routes since January 16, 2021," Mozes Kilangin Airport Head Syamsuddin Sulaiman was quoted by ANTARA as saying here, Wednesday.

The airlines operating the return pioneer flights received the Indonesian Transportation Ministry's subsidies. This year, the government has begun offering new return flights from Kaimana and Fakfak to Timika, the capital of Mimika District, he remarked.

The Mozes Kilangin Airport authority is cooperating with two pioneering flight operators -- PT ASI Pudjiastuti Aviation (Susi Air) and Asian One Air -- to serve passengers, he noted.

To this end, Susi Air operates a Pilatus PC-6 Porter-typed aircraft, while Asian One Air operates a Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft, he noted, adding that cargo services for the Timika-Wamena route are served by Trigana Air.

Trigana Air operates a Boeing 737-200 aircraft to transport cargo for the Timika-Wamena route, while the Asian One Air will serve cargo flight services to destinations whose airports have small runways.

In halting the potential spread of novel coronavirus infections, the Mozes Kilangin Airport authority has mandated passengers to show results of their rapid antigen tests before boarding the aircraft.

ANTARA noted that apart from Papua, the government also supports the commencement of pioneer flights for several isolated areas in the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi, Maluku, and Madura.
Related news:1,040 quakes in West Papua's Sorong district in 2020: BMKG

Related news:Security imperative for Papua flight operators: airport authority


EDITED BY INE

Reporter: Evarianus S, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf


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2) Security imperative for Papua flight operators: airport authority 
7 hours ago

Timika, Papua (ANTARA) - A guarantee of security from regional governments is indispensable for flight operators serving Papua in light of the recent torching of a civilian aircraft by an armed Papuan group, the Mozes Kilangin Airport authority said.

"Security issues rely on regional administrations. If they declare that their areas are secure, aircraft are permitted to take off from Timika," Mozes Kilangin Airport head Syamsuddin Sulaiman said here on Wednesday.

If the security condition remains non-conducive, the Timika-based Mozes Kilangin Airport authority cannot permit pilots to take off, Sulaiman said.

However, if the flight schedules are made available, the airport authority cannot prevent them from flying, he added.

The Mozes Kilangin Airport in Timika, the capital of Mimika district, Papua province, serves several airlines operating return flights carrying passengers and cargo on the Timika-Kaimana-Fakfak routes.

The Indonesian province of Papua has been caught in a vicious cycle of violence, with armed Papuan groups in the districts of Intan Jaya and Nduga targeting civilians and security personnel over the past few months.

Intan Jaya recorded its bloodiest month in September, 2020, with notorious armed groups launching a series of attacks in the area which claimed the lives of two soldiers and two civilians and left two others injured.

Armed Papuan groups have continued their acts of terror in the new year. On January 6, 2021, for instance, 10 armed Papuans vandalized and torched a Quest Kodiak aircraft belonging to the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) at the Pagamba village airstrip.

The armed men, led by Sabinus Waker, reportedly set the utility aircraft ablaze not long after its American pilot Alek Luferchek disembarked two passengers, Commander of the Cenderawasih Military Command, Maj. Gen. Ignatius Yogo Triyono, informed.

The torching of the civilian aircraft, bearing the registration number PK-MAX, was a brutal act since MAF planes have been conducting a noble mission for Papuan communities for decades, he stated.

Triyono admitted that no Indonesian soldiers were stationed around Pagamba village in Mbiandoga sub-district, Intan Jaya district, but soldiers were posted in Sugapa sub-district.

In connection with the incident, Luferchek, the aircraft’s pilot, had informed Papuan police officers that his aircraft was torched by about 10 men carrying assault rifles and guns.

The armed men suddenly emerged from some bushes soon after Luferchek landed the plane at the Pagamba village airstrip around 9:30 a.m. local time, Papua Police chief, Insp. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw, informed.

Citing Luferchek’s statement, Waterpauw told journalists on January 8, 2021 that several residents fled for safety upon spotting the armed men walking towards the aircraft.

The American pilot was reportedly ordered by the armed men to disembark from the utility aircraft. Pointing their rifles and guns at him, the men ordered Luferchek to sit on the ground, Waterpauw revealed.

Afterwards, the men unloaded the aircraft's cargo of food and then vandalized the plane and set it ablaze, he said, adding that the 32-year-old pilot had managed to escape the attackers.

Police in the districts of Nabire and Intan Jaya of Papua province have launched a probe into the torching of the aircraft, operated by MAF, an organization that has been conducting a Christian mission in Papua since 1952. (INE)
 

Related news:10 armed Papuans torched MAF plane, American pilot tells police
Related news:Police probe attack on MAF plane in Papua's Intan Jaya


EDITED BY INE

Reporter: Evarianus S, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto

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3) 1,040 quakes in West Papuas Sorong district in 2020: BMKG

Sorong, W Papua (ANTARA) - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Sorong office, recorded 1,040 earthquakes in various parts of West Papua province in 2020, with 27 quakes jolting the province in the month of September alone.

The average magnitudes of the earthquakes that intensively rattled West Papua in September, 2020 was recorded at three and four, the agency's head, Rully Hermawan, said here on Wednesday.

Sorong district is vulnerable to earthquakes as it lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the Ring of Fire. Its vulnerability is also a result of the "Sorong fault”, which runs through the fault zone in Sulawesi Island, which triggered the Palu and Majene earthquakes.

Sorong district has repeatedly been rocked by strong earthquakes over the past decades. In 2009, for instance, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake jolted Manokwari district and triggered a tsunami in Ransiki town.

On September 26, 2015, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Sorong district's Tanjung Kasuari, Hermawan said.

"This reality needs to be responded to cautiously. We must stay alert, but we do not need to get panicked," he remarked.

Earthquakes regularly strike various parts of Indonesia since the country lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, where several tectonic plates meet and cause frequent volcanic and seismic activity.

This year, two strong earthquakes rattled several parts of Sulawesi Island in eastern Indonesia.

On January 15, 2021, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake, followed by several aftershocks, rattled the districts of Majene and Mamuju in West Sulawesi, claiming 81 lives.

Meanwhile, the deadliest earthquake was reported in Central Sulawesi on September 28, 2018. The magnitude of the earthquake was recorded at 7.4, and it was followed by a tsunami that ravaged Palu City and the districts of Donggala, Paringi Moutong, and Sigi.

The catastrophe claimed 2,102 lives, left 4,612 people injured, and rendered 680 others missing. A total of 68,451 homes were seriously damaged, while 78,994 people were displaced by the disaster.

The authorities and humanitarian workers had to resort to burying the large number of rotting corpses in mass graves.

Meanwhile, material losses inflicted by the twin deadly disasters were estimated to be Rp15.29 trillion.

The provincial capital of Palu bore the brunt of the disaster, with material damage and losses recorded at Rp7.6 trillion, or 50 percent of the total estimate, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

The material damage and losses in Sigi district were recorded at Rp4.9 trillion, or 32.1 percent of the total estimate; Donggala district Rp2.1 trillion, or 13.8 percent; and Parigi Moutong district Rp631 billion, or 4.1 percent.

The material damage in the four affected areas reached an estimated Rp13.27 trillion, while the material losses were reportedly around Rp2.02 trillion, the agency revealed in October, 2018. (INE)

Related news:Two quakes hit Papua
Related news:4.7-magnitude quake shakes W Papua's Kaimana

 

EDITED BY INE

Reporter: Ernes BK, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto

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