A small passenger plane carrying 11 people has crashed in a forest in central Cameroon and rescue efforts are under way to locate possible survivors, the transport ministry said.

The cause of the crash and the identity of those on board were not immediately clear.

According to local media reports, the aircraft was flying from Yaounde Nsimalen Airport to Belabo in the east of the country when air traffic services lost radio contact.

“The air traffic services have lost radio contact with an aircraft flying from Yaounde-Nsimalen-Dompta-Belabo-Yaounde-Nsimalen on Wednesday, May 11, 2022,” with 11 people on board, said transport minister Jean Ernest Massena Ngalle Bibehe.

Following an air and ground search, the aircraft was found in a forest not far from Nanga Eboko, around 150km (93 miles) northeast of the capital Yaounde.

He did not give details on the victims but indicated that ground resources are being sent to the rescue.

Bibehe also invited Cameroonians to “assist the authorities in conducting rescue operations for the occupants of the aircraft”, which was chartered by a private company, Cameroon Oil Transportation Company (COTCO).

The company maintains a hydrocarbon pipeline that runs between Cameroon and neighbouring Chad, official sources told AFP.

The crash is the first major industry incident reported in Cameroon since 2007, when a Kenya Airways plane carrying 114 people crashed after takeoff from Douala, killing all on board..