JAKARTA, Indonesia – An Indonesian military plane carrying more than 100 people crashed into several homes and burst into flames Wednesday, killing at least 93 people.
Others were injured and more were feared dead. Black smoke billowed in the air, as soldiers carried badly burnt bodies on stretchers to waiting ambulances.
Military spokesman Sagom Tamboen said the C-130 aircraft was transporting troops and their families, including at least 10 children, when it tumbled from the sky near an air force base in East Java province. There were 112 passengers and crew on board when the C-130 Hercules crashed near a base in East Java province early Wednesday.
The plane smashed into a row of houses in Geplak village, killing three on the ground, before skidding into a rice field. The tail of the plane and several large parts of its body were scattered in the paddy and nearby bushes.
The country’s air force has long complained of being underfunded and handicapped by a recently lifted U.S. ban on weapons sales. It has suffered a series of accidents, including a Fokker 27 plane that crashed into an airport hangar last month, killing all 24 onboard.
A series of commercial airline crashes in recent years has killed more than 120 people in Indonesia.
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