Breaking: Jetliner catches fire on landing at airport in Indonesia

[IDemo]

People reportedly trapped inside aircraft at Yogyakarta airport

BREAKING NEWS
Updated: less than 1 minute ago

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A jetliner caught fire upon landing on Indonesia's Java island Wednesday, and rescuers were trying to reach passengers still on board, an airline official said.

The operations director of national carrier Garuda said rescue efforts were under way but the number of people still on the Boeing 737-400 was not immediately known.

"It caught alight when it landed," said Capt. Ari Sapari. He didn't provide any other details on the fire at Yogyakarta airport in central Java.

Witness Hariman Siregar said the plane was completely gutted.

One passenger who survived told local TV station RCTI TV that "before landing I felt the plane shake strongly."

"We overshot the runway, then I heard the sound of an explosion and ran through an emergency exit," continued passenger Muhammad Dimyati. "I believe many passengers remained trapped on board."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17490567/

[illinoisprogressive]

1. Since the tsunami, this poor country has had some terrible things happen

[IDemo]

2. incredible and sad

Indonesia certainly has had more than their share of tragedies just this year, between ferry disasters, mud slides, earthquakes, and now this.

[Eugene]

3. Reuters: Indonesia plane crash kills 49, local official says

Indonesia plane crash kills 49, local official says
07 Mar 2007 03:41:26 GMT
Source: Reuters

JAKARTA, March 7 (Reuters) - Forty-nine people have been confirmed dead in a plane crash
at the airport of the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, a government official told Reuters on
Wednesday.

"We found 48 dead bodies at the spot. One person died at Sardjito hospital," provincial
secretary Bambang Susanto said, referring to the city's main medical centre.
((Reporting by Mita Valina Liem, writing by Achmad Sukarsono, editing by Jerry Norton; ))

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/JAK57449.htm

(Reuters)

Dozens escape after Indonesia jet burns on landing
07 Mar 2007 03:17:52 GMT
Source: Reuters

-snip-

By Dwi Prasetyo

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia, March 7 (Reuters) - Dozens of people escaped an inferno that
erupted after an Indonesian passenger jet overshot the runway and burst into flames
on landing in the cultural capital of Yogyakarta on Wednesday.

Survivors said many passengers had escaped the flames, but a Reuters witness reported
seeing four charred bodies taken from the wreckage of the Garuda 737-400 jetliner,
which crashed at around 7 a.m. (0000 GMT) after a scheduled flight from Jakarta.

Garuda officials told Reuters that 76 of the 140 passengers and crew aboard had been
taken from the plane, although they could not confirm how many of those were alive
or dead.

-snip-

Australian officials said the flight was carrying a large group of Australian diplomats,
government officials and journalists accompanying Foreign Minister Alexander Downer,
who was not aboard, on an official visit to Indonesia.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP238549.htm

[Eugene]

4. Update: Indonesia plane crash kills 23, scores escape (Reuters)

Indonesia plane crash kills 23, scores escape

By Dwi Prasetyo

36 minutes ago

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (Reuters) - An Indonesian passenger jet overshot the runway
and burst into flames on Wednesday as it landed in the cultural capital of Yogyakarta,
but most of the 140 people on board survived.

-snip-

Twenty-three people, including two Australians, died in the crash, health ministry
national crisis center chief Rustam Pakaya said in a late afternoon text message to
Reuters.

Earlier a provincial government official had put the death toll at 48, while Garuda
had subsequently said it was 22.

-snip-

Downer said up to five Australians were unaccounted for, after officials earlier
said four were missing.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070307/ts_nm/indonesia_plane_dc