Update: Update: 113 people were on board crashed Indonesian military plane [Images Inc…]

 

A total of 113 people were on board an Indonesian air force transport plane that crashed Tuesday into a major city on Sumatra island, the country’s air force chief said.

There were 12 crew and 101 passengers on the Hercules C-130 when it went down and burst into flames in Medan city.

Authorities have previously given the death toll as at least 45. However, officials warned the death toll could rise.

A rescue operation swung into action, with ambulances ferrying bodies from the accident site, and crowds of anxious residents gathering around a police cordon to have a look at the smouldering wreckage of the plane.

Map of Indonesia locating Medan, where a military plane crashed shortly after take-off

113 people were on board Indonesia military plane crashed in Medan – air force

Security forces and firemen attempt to extinguish the wreckage of an Indonesian military transport plane after it crashed in the North Sumatra city of Medan

Residents gather next to the crash site of a Hercules plane in Medan, North Sumatra

According to the Aviation Safety Network, there have been ten fatal crashes involving Indonesian military or police aircraft over the last decade.

Indonesian police and military officials secure the crash site of a Hercules plane in Medan

 

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Updated: 4.54 PM

Update: 20 Dead in Indonesia Plane Crash [Images Inc…]

t least 20 people were killed on Tuesday after an Indonesian military transport plane crashed into a residential neighborhood in the northern Sumatra city of Medan. Adam Malik hospital spokeswoman Sairi M. Saragih told the AP the hospital has received at least 20 bodies. Twele crewmembers were on board, but the total number of passengers was unknown, according to air force operations commander Agus Dwi Putranto. The plane was on its way from an air force base in Medan to the remote Natuna islands when it reportedly crashed a few minutes after takeoff. The crash is the second time in a decade that a plane has crashed into a Medan neighborhood. In 2005, a Mandala Airlines Boeing 737 crashed into a residential area and killed 143, including 30 people on the ground. (Foreign)

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Update:1.36 PM

Five Dead After Military Plane Crashes In Flames

An Indonesian military transport plane crashed Tuesday shortly after take-off, exploding in flames in a city residential area and killing at least five people.

Large crowds and emergency services gathered around the flaming wreckage shortly after the crash in the city of Medan, on Sumatra Island, with the fuselage of the aircraft visible among thick plumes of black smoke. Buildings in the vicinity of the crash zone were also clearly damaged.

The military said that there 12 crew on board the plane when it crashed in the newly-built residential area, and police said that at least five people were so far confirmed dead but more bodies were being recovered.

Local media reported the 12 crew consisted of three pilots, one navigator and eight technicians.

The plane crashed into the newly-constructed residential area, although it was unclear whether it was occupied by residents yet. Police have cordoned off the area.

“A Hercules was… transporting military equipment from Medan,” military spokesman Fuad Basya told AFP.