Another Indonesian plane crash

[stevem]

Just coming through now another Indonesian 737 has crashed and caught fire, killing many onboard, according to initial reports. This time the aircraft belonged to Garuda and happened at Yogyakarta.

[Dori]

Australian journalists and officials were on board a jet that burst into flames on landing in the central Indonesian city of Yogyakarta today, killing at least eight people.

Reports say the Garuda jet was carrying 140 passengers and crew when it caught fire about 11am (AEST) today.

The Australians on the flight are believed to be connected with a visit by Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer. Mr Downer was not on the flight.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokesman confirmed that a number of Australians were on board the plane, including government officials and media.

"Embassy officials are on the ground in Jakarta and are liaising with emergency officials," the spokesman told theage.com.au.

"We will have updates coming in throughout the course of the afternoo."

One report quoted Indonesian officials as saying dozens of people had been burned to death in the crash.

'Dozens of burnt bodies'

"I saw many bodies, dozens of bodies badly burnt near the exit,'' Captain Yos Bintoro, an airport official, told Elshinta radio. "I saw people dead in the cockpit. I cannot say if that's the pilot or co-pilot.''

"The plane is completely burnt. The fire erupted suddenly from the front wheel," one witness, Hariman, told ElShinta radio.

"Before the plane landed it was shaking. Suddenly there was smoke inside the fuselage, it hit the runway and then it landed in a rice field,'' said local Islamic leader Dien Syamsudin.

"I saw a foreigner. His clothes were on fire and I jumped from the emergency exit. Thank God I survived.''

One unnamed passenger told the radio she had managed to escape from the plane in the panic and that many passengers were still behind her. She said she was unsure if they were trapped or had managed to get out.

Television footage showed a gutted aircraft with only the tail fin intact, with police and onlookers standing nearby.

Dozens of injured people have been taken to hospital following the crash, newsagency AFP reported.

Operations director of national carrier Garuda Captain Ari Sapari said efforts were made to rescue passengers onboard the Boeing 737-400.

"It caught alight when it landed," he told AP, giving no more details.

The Detikcom news website said the plane was a Garuda jet from the country's flag carrier Garuda Indonesia. flying to Yogjakarta, on the main Indonesian island of Java, from the capital Jakarta.

It said ambulances and fire trucks had rushed to the scene.

Latest in string of accidents

Indonesia's flight safety record has come under renewed scrutiny since an Adam Air Boeing 737-400 with 102 people on board crashed into the sea off the island of Sulawesi on New Year's Day with no survivors.

Just last Friday a Boeing 737-200 operated by local Indonesian carrier Merpati Nusantara was forced to make an emergency landing on Batam Island after the pilot reported a dangerous oil leak.

The steady stream of accidents and safety scares involving Indonesian airlines has forced President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to form a team to evaluate and improve transport safety.

Indonesia's state news agency Antara said the plane crashed and exploded at 7am local time (11am AEDT) and passengers were trapped inside the burning fuselage.

"It is true that a plane caught fire while landing. It happened when it overshot beyond the runway and burst into flames," Yogyakarta provincial secretary Bambang Susanto told Reuters through texted messages.

"The number of passengers is still unclear but we know that there are passengers being treated at the air force hospital," he added.

The make and type of the aircraft was not immediately available, but Antara said the flight number was GA-200, which would be a Jakarta to Yogyakarta flight.

Agencies