VOA, 07 March 2007
Indonesian President Orders Investigation of Fiery Plane Crash
By Nancy-Amelia Collins, Jakarta, 07 March 2007
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Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered an investigation after
an Indonesian plane carrying 140 people crash-landed in the central Java city of
Yogyakarta, killing more than 20 people. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in Jakarta has
more.
[PHOTO: Air force personnel stands guard near wreckage of Garuda Indonesia
Airways jetliner, 7 Mar. 2007.]
The Garuda Boeing 737-400 passenger jet was carrying 133 passengers and seven
crew members when it burst into flames after landing at Indonesia's Yogyakarta
airport early Wednesday morning. The burning plane overshot the runway and ended
in a rice field.
Presidential spokesman Dino Djalil says President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has
ordered an immediate investigation into the crash, the second airline disaster in the
country in just over two months.
"He has ordered an investigation into why the incident happened, and this is an
investigation that should look into the possibility of all factors," explained the
spokesman. "It could be either technical fault, it can be human error, or it could be
other reasons."
Among those on board were at least 10 Australians, including foreign diplomats and
journalists who were covering the visit of Australian Foreign Minister Alexander
Downer to Indonesia. Downer himself was not on the plane.
[PHOTO: Rescue crews carry body from wreckage, 7 Mar. 2007.]
Dozens of survivors are being treated at local hospitals, with some people still
unaccounted for.
Mulyiadi, administrator for Yogyakarta's Panti Rini Hospital, says dozens of survivors
were brought there for treatment.
He says many of those injured were burn victims, with just a few suffering only cuts
and scrapes.
A man named Suarjono who survived the crash told local Metro TV the weather was
fine during the flight. But when the plane descended, he says, it started to shake.
He says the plane bounced along the tarmac, then caught fire as he quickly jumped
out a nearby exit.
Other survivors have been quoted as saying they smelled smoke before the plane
landed.
Australia lost 88 citizens in the 2002 terrorist bombing on the Indonesian island of
Bali. Australian Prime Minister John Howard says several more Australians may be
among Wednesday's dead.
"It's clear from reports and from statements made by the individual agencies that quite
a number of those [Australians] have survived, but given the severity of the crash and
the following fire, we should be prepared for bad news in relation to at least some of
the Australians on board the aircraft," Howard said.
Indonesia has suffered a string of transportation accidents and disasters in recent
months, including the January 1 crash into the sea of an Adam Air flight that killed
102 people. Two ship accidents over the last 3 months have claimed the lives of more
than 400 people, and a second Adam Air flight broke apart on landing last month,
although no one on that flight was killed. |
