A new Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger plane with about 50 people on board has gone missing in Indonesia during a demonstration flight, media reports citing officials said Wednesday.

The Superjet, the first commercial aviation plane manufactured by Russian military plane-maker Sukhoi, reportedly went off the radar fifty minutes after take-off from east Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma airport.

Reports indicate some 46 people on board the missing flight, mostly Indonesian airline representatives. It is understood that there were also eight Russians, including pilots and technicians, and a French citizen on board the missing aircraft.

Indonesian authorities have launched search efforts to track the missing aircraft and find any possible survivors in the event of a crash. Nonetheless, the search and rescue operations have been hampered by darkness and strong winds.

The plane reportedly went off the radar near the city of Bogor in West Java province. Authorities now suspect the plane might have crashed into mountains around Mt Salak. Indonesian authorities have already sent more than 200 police, military and rescue workers to the region to take part in search and rescue operations.

The incident happened amidst a tour by Sukhoi officials to several Asian nations to showcase their new commercial aircraft to airline firms. The aircraft was produced under a joint venture involving Italy's Finmeccanica and a number of other foreign and Russian firms, with Sukhoi owning the major stakes.

Sukhoi officials were aiming to convince Indonesian airline firms to buy at least 40 of its Superjet aircraft with their ongoing tour of the Southeast Asian nation and demonstration flights. Incidentally, Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous nation with a fast-expanding aviation market.

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