Officials in Indonesia say a small aircraft carrying 18 people has crashed in a mountainous area on Sumatra island.

The Spanish-built CASA 212 plane took off Thursday on a short flight from North Sumatra to the nearby province of Aceh when it lost contact with air traffic controllers. Officials say the aircraft sent out an emergency distress signal shortly before it crashed.

Search and rescue teams have been dispatched to the crash site.

The sprawling archipelago of Indonesia has been plagued by numerous air and sea accidents in recent years, many of them blamed on poor safety standards.