PHOTOS/VIDEOS: 43 People Killed As Military Plane Crashes Into Homes

Not less than 43 people have been killed after an Indonesian military transport plane crashed shortly after take-off into a city on Sumatra island, exploding in a ball of flames at a residential area.

Site of the crash

Large crowd around the rubbles

Rubbles of the crash

Reports say that the Hercules plane hit a hotel and houses in the northern Sumatra city of Medan on Tuesday.

Properties in ruins

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Houses burned down

“The latest information we have is that 30 have died…. The number could go up,” Hisar Turnip, a spokesman for Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, told Reuters.

Rescue operations still ongoing

READ ALSO: (PHOTOS): Plane Crash Kills Three, Sets Home Ablaze

Flames from the plane crash

There was no immediate accurate detail as to how many of the victims were in the plane or on the ground.

The plane was said to be on its way from an air force base in Medan, and was headed to Natuna islands.

It crashed a few minutes after takeoff.

Rescue team working to save what is left of the mishap

Scene from the crash site.

Rescue operations as the crowd watches on

Pictures gathered on social media showed large crowds and emergency services gathered around the flaming wreckage.

Visible also was the fuselage of the aircraft among thick clouds of black smoke.

Builds engulfed and destroyed

Remains of the military plane

Rescue team removing dead bodies from the wreck

Several buildings within the vicinity were left in ruins, fears are that more deaths will be recorded.

 

There have been former accidents involving the Indonesian air force.

In April, an F-16 fighter jet caught fire as it was about to take off from an airbase in Jakarta, prompting the pilot to jump to safety as flames and thick smoke engulfed the plane.

The pilot was reported to have escaped with minor injuries from the jet which had been due to provide security at a summit of Asian and African leaders in Indonesia.

This happened a month after two air force planes from an Indonesian aerobatics team crashed during a practice session ahead of an air show on Malaysia’s Langkawi island.

Reports say that all four pilots ejected successfully and survived.

Statistics have shown that the civil aviation safety record in Indonesia is very poor.

It must be recalled that an Indonesian AirAsia plane crashed in December enroute from Indonesia’s Surabaya to Singapore, killing all 162 people on board.

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