The national search and rescue office of Indonesia confirmed on Thursday that all the five people on board of a small plane that went down in Papua province a day earlier were dead, China's Xinhua news agency reported a senior official in the office as saying.

Spokesman of the office Marsudi said that dozens of rescuers from the local search and rescue office and volunteers have arrived in the scene and undertaken evacuation.

"All of the five people on board are dead. We have removed four of them to Wamena town, but another remains on the scene," Marsudi told Xinhua by phone.

The five people on board included a pilot, a co-pilot and three passengers, he added.

The plane, operated by Associated Mission Aviation (AMA), a private firm operating flights in and around Papua province, was flying from Wamena to Derakma.

-- BERNAMA