Plane Crash in Indonesia Kills 149

(Medan, Indonesia) A Mandala Airlines Boeing 737-200 carrying 112 passengers and a crew of five destined for Jakarta crashed in the heart of a residential area just after takeoff from Medan's airport. The crash site is less than a mile from the runway. According to Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa, among those killed were 102 people onboard the plane, including Governor Nurdin of North Sumatra, and 47 people on the ground. Fifteen passengers in the tail section of the plane survived.

According to Setyo Raharjo, head of the National Transport Safety Committee, the flight data recorder has been found and seven investigators are on site. Mandala Airlines Director Asril Tanjung stated that the cause of the crash is presently unknown, however, "foul play was highly unlikely."

Medan is the capital of North Sumatra and Indonesia's third largest city (pop. 2 million). It lies on the north coast of Sumatra about 1,000 miles northwest of Jakarta.