Indonesia plane crash death toll climbs to 141
AUTHORITIES PROBING NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON BOARD AFTER MILITARY UNDERSTATES FIGURES
An air force transport plane that crashed in Indonesia carried more passengers than the military previously reported, raising the death toll to more than 140 yesterday combined with victims from the neighbourhood where the aircraft went down in flames.
So far, 141 bodies have been recovered from the rubble of a residential area in Medan city, where the C-130 Hercules crashed shortly after take-off on Tuesday, North Sumatra police Major A. Tarigan told TVOne station.
The air force says 122 people were on board, including military personnel and their families. Officials don’t expect any survivors from the plane.
Initially, the air force said there were 12 crew members on the C-130 and did not mention passengers. It then repeatedly raised the numbers of people aboard, indicating lax controls and raising questions about whether the plane was accepting paying passengers despite previous promises to crack down on the practice.
Common practice
Hitching rides on military planes to reach remote destinations is common in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago that spans three time zones. The plane had travelled from the capital, Jakarta, and stopped at two locations before arriving at Medan on Sumatra, one of Indonesia’s main islands.
Air force chief Air Marshal Agus Supriatna told reporters the Hercules was only authorised to carry military personnel and their families. He said he would investigate allegations of paying passengers. A copy of the manifest seen by The Associated Press shows 32 passengers with no designation. The rest are described as either military or military family members.
Dozens of family members gathered at Medan’s Adam Malik hospital on yesterday. Outside its mortuary, more than 100 wood coffins were arranged in rows and women cried and screamed the names of loved ones killed in the disaster.
Hospital spokeswoman Sairi M. Saragih said more than 60 bodies have been identified.
The crash of the aircraft, which had been in service since 1964, occurred only two minutes after it took off from Soewondo air force base in Medan, headed for Natuna. It ploughed into a building that local media said contained shops and homes.
Witnesses said the plane was flying low and flames and smoke streamed from it before crashing. Supriatna, the air force chief, has said the pilot told the control tower that he needed to turn back because of engine trouble and the plane crashed while turning right to return to the airport.
Indonesia has a patchy civil aviation safety record and its cash-strapped air force has suffered a series of accidents. Between 2007 and 2009, the European Union barred Indonesian airlines from flying to Europe because of safety worries.
The incident raises questions about whether the plane was accepting paying passengers despite previous promises to crack down on the practice.