Indonesian airliner bursts into flames on landing
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/0 ... index.html
Quote:
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.
Some 115 passengers were onboard, Andy Mallarangeng, a spokesman for the Indonesian government, told CNN.
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.
The Australian contingent had been traveling with Australia's foreign minister in Indonesia, The Associated Press quoted Australian Treasurer Peter Costello saying. The foreign minister was reportedly not on the plane, the AP reported.
The number of casualties was unclear, but "some" people onboard have been saved, Mallarangeng said, and had been taken to hospitals.
"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.
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.
