Plane crash kills 149<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan and
\nRidwan Max Sijabat
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Medan<\/p>\n
A Boeing-737 aircraft owned by PT Mandala Airlines Indonesia
\ncrashed into a densely populated residential area in Medan, North
\nSumatra, minutes after take-off on Monday, leaving at least 149
\npeople dead and many others seriously injured.<\/p>\n
The ill-fated plane had 112 passengers, including three
\nchildren, and five crew members onboard. Minister of
\nTransportation Hatta Radjasa said 102 of them had died in the
\ncrash, while 15 others had miraculously survived.<\/p>\n
At least 47 people were killed on the ground as the aircraft
\nslammed into Padang Bulan, a crowded residential area. Some 30
\nhouses were destroyed by fire. Wreckage of the plane and burned
\nvehicles littered the usually busy Jl. Djamin Ginting, which
\nborders on the airport.<\/p>\n
All of the victims were evacuated to the Adam Malik General
\nHospital, Pirngadi General Hospital and several smaller hospitals
\nin the area.<\/p>\n
Among the victims were North Sumatra governor Tengku Rizal
\nNurdin, his predecessor Radja Inal Siregar, Regional
\nRepresentatives Council member Abdul Halim Harahap, pilot Askar
\nTimur, 34, and copilot Daufir Effendi, 32.<\/p>\n
Most victims were burned beyond recognition and hospital
\nforensic experts are still trying to identify them.<\/p>\n
Rizal Nurdin's body was laid out at his official residence in
\nthe city after an identification process that lasted several
\nhours. He had been traveling to Jakarta to attend a meeting
\nbetween President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the country's
\ngovernors.<\/p>\n
A 3-year-old Japanese child was also killed, hospital
\nofficials told Reuters. The child's Indonesian father and
\nJapanese mother were waiting for her in Jakarta. The child was
\ntraveling with her Indonesian grandmother.<\/p>\n
The critically injured are receiving treatment in the
\nintensive care units of the Adam Malik General Hospital and the
\nSarah General Hospital.<\/p>\n
Two of the survivors, Rohan Sitepu, in his 30s, and Oloan
\nHarahap, 45, said that the aircraft crashed soon after take-off.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the passengers were no longer sitting down and they
\nall panicked when the plane started to drop and clipped the roof
\nof a house,\" said Sitepu.<\/p>\n
Harahap, who suffered serious injuries to his head and back,
\nsaid that the plane had developed engine trouble before the
\ncrash.<\/p>\n
Samir Tumanggor, a resident of Padang Bulan, said he saw the
\ntip of aircraft's left wing hit a house. The plane then flipped
\nover on its right side and ploughed through dozens of cars, and
\npassersby on the road.<\/p>\n
\"After scything through the cars and people, the plane slammed
\ninto the road and exploded into flames,\" he said.<\/p>\n
It took dozens of fire engines and hundreds of rescue workers
\nsome 30 minutes to arrive at the scene due to the heavy traffic
\ncongestion and the massive crowd of onlookers that had
\ncongregated at the scene.<\/p>\n
\"The traffic jams and the crowd really hampered us in trying
\nto put out the blaze. As a result, it spread to adjacent houses.
\nThis also hindered rescue workers in getting to the survivors,\"
\nsaid a fireman who requested anonymity.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of rescue workers from the Medan municipal
\nadministration and the local military, and at least 60
\nambulances, were deployed to evacuate the victims.<\/p>\n
Aviation authorities said a joint team from the Ministry of
\nTransportation, Mandala and state-owned airport operator PT
\nAngkasa Pura II would conduct a thorough investigation into the
\ntragedy.<\/p>\n
Officials said the plane's black box had been recovered.<\/p>\n
\"We don't know what the cause of the accident was. The
\ninvestigators will work hard to identify the reason for the
\ncrash,\" said Haryono, an executive at Polonia Airport.<\/p>\n
The airport, meanwhile, remained open, and arrivals and
\ndepartures were unaffected by the disaster.<\/p>\n
More stories on Pages 3<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/plane-crash-kills-149-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }