Plane crash kills 78 in Indonesia

Jakarta, May 20: An Indonesian military transport plane crashed in East Java killing atleast 78 people on Wednesday, May 20. Bambang Sulistio, the Airforce spokesperson said to media, "The latest data that I have received is there have been 78 people killed in the accident... This number can rise because the evacuation process is still going on."

TV footage shows the burning wreckage of the plane 'Hercules' scattered in rice paddies in Mageton, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of Yogyakarta.

The aircraft was carrying 98 passengers and 14 crew members. The plane crashes when it was preparing to land at Iswahyudi military airbase. This is the second plane crash involving an Indonesian air force Hercules in two weeks. Indonesia is world's largest archipelagic nation and relies heavily on air travel. Its commercial airlines are banned from flying in European Union airspace for safety reasons.

OneIndia News