At least 31 people were killed and many others injured when a jet carrying 153 passengers and crew crashed on landing today in heavy rain in Indonesia's central Java.
Indonesia's Metro TV, quoting the central Java police chief, said 31 were dead and "tens" more hurt. Police officials said the death toll was 23 dead, with 61 hurt. The accident happened as the McDonnell-Douglas MD-82, operated by budget domestic carrier Lion Air, landed in Solo city from the capital, Jakarta, around dusk.
At least 31 people were killed after a jet carrying 153 passengers and crew skidded off a runway while landing in heavy rain in Indonesia's central Java today
At least one wing ripped off the plane, which came to rest in a nearby cemetery surrounded by rice fields after the aircraft skidded off the runway, witnesses said. The fuselage was badly damaged, they added.
Armed soldiers cordoned off the area, while people at the airport sought desperately to get news of relatives on the plane.
Officials said the dead and injured had been taken to five hospitals in the city, which lies in the heart of Indonesia's main island of Java. Among the dead was a legislator from Indonesia's 550-member national parliament, local media said.
Lion Air is a popular local budget carrier, one of many to spring up in Indonesia in recent years. An executive from the airline, quoted by the official Antara news agency, said the government's transport safety board would investigate the cause of the accident.
The plane was carrying 146 passengers and seven crew.