Crashed Indonesian plane was carrying almost $500,000 in cash

An Indonesian passenger plane that crashed at the weekend in Papua was transporting about 6.5 billion rupiah ($470,000) in cash to distribute to poor families in the eastern province, a post office official has said.

"Four of our personnel were escorting the funds," said Haryono, the head of Jayapura post office. The money was in four bags, he added, according to the AFP news agency.

An Indonesian search and rescue plane spotted debris believed to be from the aircraft that went missing on Sunday with 54 people on board in Papua province.

The wreckage thought to be from the Trigana Air Service plane was sighted on Monday morning in the heavily-forested Bintang Mountains region, local police chief Yunus Wally said.

The Trigana Air Service ATR 42-300 plane's disappearance is the latest in a string of aviation disasters in Southeast Asia.

The passengers on the plane, reported to be an ATR-42 model, include 44 adults, two children, three toddlers and five crew members.