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Indonesian airliner bursts into flames on landing
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- A commercial airliner arriving from Jakarta burst into flames Wednesday upon landing at Yogyakarta airport in central Java, an official there told CNN.
The Garuda Airlines Boeing 737-400 appeared to overshoot the runway before flames shot out, and witnesses reported hearing an explosion, according to media reports.
Reports differed on the number of people onboard. Media reports said 133 passengers and seven crew members were onboard, while Andy Mallarangeng, a spokesman for the Indonesian government, told CNN 115 passengers were onboard. (Watch the state of the plane after the plane burst into flames Video)
Among them were Australian government officials and members of the Australian media, The Australian Foreign Ministry in Canberra told CNN. The Australian government released no further information about their fate.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer was hosting a ministerial meeting on counterterrorism in Jakarta with his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirajuda, this week, according to a March 1 statement issued by him. Several officials, including Attorney General Philip Ruddock, were accompanying him, he said.
The two officials were not on the Garuda Airlines flight but remained in Jakarta and have been traveling on a Royal Australian Air Force plane, department sources told CNN. Members of the Australian press corps were on the Garuda Airlines flight, however.
The number of casualties onboard the plane was unclear, but 76 people were evacuated, according to Indonesia's Transportation Ministry.
"We are still waiting for the latest information" about any passengers who may have been trapped, he said. It was too early to speculate on what caused the plane to erupt in flames, he added.
"Officials are on the site and doing whatever they can for the situation," he said.
Video footage from the scene showed rescue workers and onlookers surrounding the plane's smoking fuselage. The top of the plane appeared to have burned away.
The plane was about 8-9 years old, according to a Garuda Airlines spokesman.
Indonesia has suffered from a string of transportation accidents in recent months, including an Adam Air plane that disappeared in January with more than 100 passengers and crew on board, and a ferry sinking in late December in which hundreds died.
The plane accident Tuesday occurred one day after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit western Indonesia, killing at least 70 people and injuring hundreds more. (Full story)
CNN's Kathy Quijano and John Vause contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- A commercial airliner arriving from Jakarta burst into flames Wednesday upon landing at Yogyakarta airport in central Java, an official there told CNN.
The Garuda Airlines Boeing 737-400 appeared to overshoot the runway before flames shot out, and witnesses reported hearing an explosion, according to media reports.
Reports differed on the number of people onboard. Media reports said 133 passengers and seven crew members were onboard, while Andy Mallarangeng, a spokesman for the Indonesian government, told CNN 115 passengers were onboard. (Watch the state of the plane after the plane burst into flames Video)
Among them were Australian government officials and members of the Australian media, The Australian Foreign Ministry in Canberra told CNN. The Australian government released no further information about their fate.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer was hosting a ministerial meeting on counterterrorism in Jakarta with his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirajuda, this week, according to a March 1 statement issued by him. Several officials, including Attorney General Philip Ruddock, were accompanying him, he said.
The two officials were not on the Garuda Airlines flight but remained in Jakarta and have been traveling on a Royal Australian Air Force plane, department sources told CNN. Members of the Australian press corps were on the Garuda Airlines flight, however.
The number of casualties onboard the plane was unclear, but 76 people were evacuated, according to Indonesia's Transportation Ministry.
"We are still waiting for the latest information" about any passengers who may have been trapped, he said. It was too early to speculate on what caused the plane to erupt in flames, he added.
"Officials are on the site and doing whatever they can for the situation," he said.
Video footage from the scene showed rescue workers and onlookers surrounding the plane's smoking fuselage. The top of the plane appeared to have burned away.
The plane was about 8-9 years old, according to a Garuda Airlines spokesman.
Indonesia has suffered from a string of transportation accidents in recent months, including an Adam Air plane that disappeared in January with more than 100 passengers and crew on board, and a ferry sinking in late December in which hundreds died.
The plane accident Tuesday occurred one day after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit western Indonesia, killing at least 70 people and injuring hundreds more. (Full story)
CNN's Kathy Quijano and John Vause contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
