Indonesian official fears plane crashed at sea

Indonesian searchers are looking in the ocean for amissing airliner that was wrongly reported to have been found.

Early Tuesday, it was reported that12 people survived and 90 died whena Boeing 737 crashed into mountains onSulawesi island on Monday. That report was subsequently proved wrong.

Indonesian navy ships were searching Wednesday in the Makassar Strait, the body of water between Sulawesi Island and Borneo, while five aircraft continue the hunt over land and sea.

Bambang Karnoyudho, head of the National Search and Rescue Agency, told the Associated Press Wednesday that he feared the plane had crashed at sea.

"God willing, we can find it soon," he told Associated Press.

Search and rescue teams hiked slippery forest paths in heavy rain for more than 10 hours Tuesday but found nothing, calling off their search along Sulawesi's mountainous western coast as darkness fell.

Indonesian officials apologizedlate Tuesday for falsely reporting the discovery of airplane wreckage, but their words provided little consolation for grief-stricken relatives of missing passengers.

"They had given us hope of seeing our beloved relatives but it was false hope," wailed Dorce Sundalangi, whose daughter was on theflight.

"I don't understand how the authorities could be so heartless and spread rumours without thinking of the suffering of those waiting for news of their loved ones," said Ima Kulata, who was waiting word about her cousin and two nieces.

"It's ridiculous," she said, crying after learning there may be no survivors after all. "How come they make such fools of us?"

Police Chief Col. Genot Hariyanto had said earlier that rescue teams had located the crash site on Sulawesi's western coast early Tuesday and had discovered the remains of Adam Air Flight KI-574 along with a number of bodies.

As well, Setyo Raharjo, head of the National Commission on Transportation Safety, had said that searchers had found 90 bodies at the scene and were searching for 12 others. He had said the crash site could not be reached by helicopter or car.

Air force Rear Cmdr. Eddy Suyanto, who was among those who earlier confirmed a jetliner crashed into the mountains, admitted the error was based on village rumours that eventually made their way up to the highest levels of government.

Karnoyudho said much of the original information came from Hariyanto, who said he received the news from subordinates after they spoke to a village chief.

"Once he went to check for himself, he found it was not true," Karnoyudho said, referring to the local police chief.

Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa later acknowledged that the plane is still missing.

The Boeing 737-400 jetliner, carrying 102 people, was said to have crashed Monday on a domestic flight from Java Island to Sulawesi.

Relatives awaiting word

Two distress calls had been received from the plane during its two-hour flight from Indonesia's main island of Java to Manado, on the northern tip of Sulawesi.

Hundreds of people gathered at the airport in Manado seeking information about missing relatives.

Some collapsed when they heard the initial reports that 90 people had died, while others angrily banged on the door of the Adam Air office, demanding information, witnesses said.

According to the U.S. Embassy, three of the 102 people aboard were American citizens. No other known foreigners were on the plane.

The 17-year-old plane carried six crew members and 96 passengers, including 11 children. Contact was lost about an hour before it was due to land.

Adam Air isamong ahandful of airlines thatbegan operating in Indonesia since 1999, when the industry was deregulated. Most of its flights are domestic.

The rapid expansion of Indonesia's airline industry has resulted in cheap flights to a number of destinations, but has led to concerns about safety because many of the airlines lease planes that are old and not well-maintained.