Bild: Plane carrying German Foreign Minister missing for several hours in Indonesia

On November 2, the German newspaper "Bild" reported that the plane of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is currently touring Asian countries, disappeared from the radar screen of Indonesian air traffic control for several hours on November 1.

According to the newspaper, the German Foreign Minister's seven-hour flight on an A340 from Seoul to Jakarta encountered a storm and the pilot decided to change course. But air traffic controllers in Jakarta thought Mr Steinmeier's plane had returned to Berlin. They then "lost" the plane.

According to Bild newspaper, Foreign Minister Steinmeier and his colleagues on the A340 did not expect that they had been missing for several hours. (Photo: AFP)

After being informed about the incident by Indonesian authorities, German Ambassador to Jakarta, Mr. Georg Witschel, contacted Berlin but could not receive an exact answer about the minister's current whereabouts and the reason for his return to Berlin.

Only 40 minutes before landing, Jakarta airport air traffic control saw the plane again on radar and notified the German Embassy. The newspaper noted that Mr. Steinmeier and those on board the A340 did not realize that they had been missing for several hours./.

According to VNA