Dozens killed in military plane crash
A military transport plane crashed into a residential area of a major Indonesian city shortly after take-off, exploding in a fireball and reportedly killing over 110 people. Here is a look at the incident in pictures.
Severe damage
The crash occurred at a newly built residential area, causing severe damage to buildings and vehicles at the site. Officials said it was unclear how many people were in the buildings at the time of the accident. But all 113 on board the air force transport plane are believed to have been killed, the country's air force chief said.
Plumes of smoke
Novi, who works at an international school near the accident site described the incident to AFP as "very scary," adding she rushed to the site but the wreckage and plumes of smoke looked "very bad". Another resident said the aircraft appeared to be in trouble just before the accident: "I saw the plane from the direction of the airport and it was tilting already, then I saw smoke billowing."
Rescue underway
A rescue operation began immediately after the accident. While ambulances ferried bodies from the accident site, crowds of anxious residents gathered at the crash site to take a look at the wreckage.
A major city
It was the second fatal plane accident in a decade in Medan, which is the capital of the Southeast Asian nation's North Sumatra province. It is also the second largest Indonesian city outside the main island of Java and a major economic center.
The aircraft
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport plane. More than 60 countries use some version of the plane, making it one of the world's most common tactical airlifters. The plane that crashed in Medan was carrying 12 crew members and an unknown number of passengers and had been transporting military supplies to airbases, said a local military commander.
Previous accidents
There have been several crashes in Indonesia involving military aircraft over the past several years. While an F-16 fighter jet caught fire at the time of take off from an airbase in the capital Jakarta in April, nine people were killed in an air force plane accident in 2012. In 2009, a military transport plane with troops and their families on board crashed in Java province, killing 98 people.
Poor air safety
Indonesia has a poor civil aviation safety record. The country has seen a number of fatal accidents in the past such as the crash of an AirAsia plane in December en route from Indonesia's Surabaya to Singapore, killing all 162 people on board.