The aircraft, which was transporting supplies to remote villages for a Christian humanitarian association, went down in Wamena district at 0600 GMT, a local official at the air transport ministry, Jon Rettob, said.

"We managed to locate the wreckage, which was badly damaged," he told AFP, adding that search-and-rescue teams are heading to the crash site.

It is unlikely that the pilot and two passengers will have survived, he said.

An Australian and a Slovakian were killed this month when their small plane crashed in Papua.

The sprawling Indonesian archipelago relies heavily on air transport and has a poor aviation record. Turbulent weather conditions in Papua have caused several aviation accidents in recent years.