Lion Air
\nPlane skids off runaway, dozens die<\/p>\n
Blontank Poerwoko, The Jakarta Post\/Surakarta<\/p>\n
At least 23 people have been killed and dozens more were injured
\nafter a Lion Air passenger jet skidded off a slippery runway and
\nslammed into a graveyard after landing at a Surakarta airport on
\nTuesday evening.<\/p>\n
The aircraft, carrying 146 passengers and seven crew, was
\nbadly damaged, breaking into two pieces with a wing ripping
\noff.<\/p>\n
The fatalities, from the which are expected to rise, make the
\naccident the worst crash in at least two years.<\/p>\n
The bad weather and pitch black conditions made situation near
\nthe airport chaotic and victims were still being found late on
\nTuesday night.<\/p>\n
The accident happened seconds after the McDonnell-Douglas MD-
\n82 aircraft, operated by the Lion Air domestic budget carrier,
\nlanded at Adi Sumarmo International Airport in Surakarta, Central
\nJava.<\/p>\n
One of the surviving passengers, M. Rahmani, told The Jakarta
\nPost that the plane had flown through bad weather from Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Turbulence was felt several times on the way to Adi Sumarmo
\nAirport, Rahmani said. It was very dark inside the cabin when it
\nlanded, he said.<\/p>\n
The airplane, first hit the airport safety barrier, lunged
\nonto a road and then onto a rice field before came to a halt in a
\npublic cemetery.<\/p>\n
A survivor told Metro TV station that passengers panicked as
\nthe airplane bumped and skidded on the runway.<\/p>\n
\"Many people shouted Allah Akbar! (God is Great) And after the
\nplane stopped, people scrambled to get out of it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Witnesses described chaotic scenes after the accident, with
\nshocked passengers wandering around and dead bodies stacked at
\nthe airport.<\/p>\n
Ambulances were quickly dispatched to the scene, while
\nsecurity personnel cordoned off the area. Relatives and families
\nof the victims thronged the airport in a frantic search for their
\nloved ones.<\/p>\n
Search and rescue teams said that most of the victims on the
\nill-fated flight were crushed in the impact.<\/p>\n
There were many victims not yet identified as of last night,
\nincreasing fears the final death toll could be much higher.<\/p>\n
A good number of passengers on board were found to be
\nNadhlatul Ulama (NU) members who were planning to take part in
\nthe NU Congress being held in the nearby Donohudan Haj dormitory.<\/p>\n
One confirmed fatality included lawmaker Yusuf Muhammad, a
\nleading member of the National Awakening Party (PKB), the
\npolitical wing of the NU.<\/p>\n
The budget airline would cover medical costs for the injured
\npassengers and pay compensation to the families of the perished,
\nLion Air corporate secretary Hasyim Arsal Al-Habsyi was quoted as
\nsaying by Antara news agency.<\/p>\n
Chief of Surakarta municipal police, Sr. Comr. Abdul Madjid,
\nconfirmed that 23 people had died as of Tuesday night, including
\na Singaporean. \"We are still investigating the incident,\" Abdul
\nsaid. However, Reuters quoted TV reports that up to 31 people had
\ndied.<\/p>\n
The injured, including a two-year-old child, were rushed to
\nthe Islamic, Kasih Ibu, Air Force, Orthopedi, Oen and
\nMuhammadiyah Hospitals nearby.<\/p>\n
The accident is not the first time for the new carrier,
\npopular for its budget service.<\/p>\n
In January 2002, a Lion Air Boeing 737-200 skidded off the
\nrunway in Sultan Syarif Kasim III in Pekanbaru after an aborted
\ntakeoff. Seven people were injured in the accident.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lion-air-1447899208",
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