Over 100 people are feared dead.
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The plane’s manifest showed it was carrying 50 people, according to North Sumatra police chief Eko Hadi Sutedjo, but the actual number might be higher.
More victims are expected to be found, as the recovery team is trying to lift the plane’s fuselage from a auto and segments of two buildings it brought down when it crashed.
A military spokesman said the aged transport plane, made in 1964, was still in good condition but the this latest disaster has thrown the spotlight on Indonesia’s woeful air safety record. The hospital and the local medical examiner’s officer will begin identifying the victims and coordinating with police to notify the families of the deceased.
There were 12 crew members and 101 passengers on board the plane, the AFP news agency reported, citing officials who spoke to local television.
Our correspondent said that two minutes into the flight, the pilot radioed in, saying there was a “technical issue” with the plane.
Officials said the plane plunged into a built-up area of Medan.
The plane had just taken off when it ran into trouble. Their vision is reportedly being obstructed by smoke from the fire.
“It passed overhead a few times, really low”, said Golden Eleven Hotel receptionist Elfrida Efi. The plane destroyed the area where the massage parlor was in the hotel. It was not immediately clear how many were of those recovered had been on the plane and how many were people on the ground. Hitching rides on military planes to reach remote destinations is common in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago that spans three time zones. A rescue effort was underway, he said. An Indonesia AirAsia plane crashed in December en route from Indonesia’s Surabaya to Singapore, killing all 162 people on board.
The scene in Medan was one of chaos as bystanders were seen running through the streets to flee the disaster area.
A major rescue operation is under way at the site which was covered in flames and thick black smoke.
Reuters/Roni Bintang Indonesian security forces and firefighters search through the wreckage of an Indonesian military C-130 Hercules transport plane after it crashed into a residential area in the North Sumatra city of Medan, Indonesia. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
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A Mandala Airlines domestic flight crashed shortly after take-off in 2005 into a densely populated suburb, killing at least 150 including passengers, crew and people on the ground.
