15 confirmed dead in jet crash A PLANE load of Australian journalists and embassy staff from Canberra and Jakarta has crashed in Indonesia, killing at least 15 of those aboard.
The Garuda passenger jet, GA-200, burst into flames on landing in the central Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, witnesses said.
Some passengers escaped the burning aircraft but more were trapped inside. Witnesses say only the tail fin was left undamaged.
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"The plane is burnt. The fire came suddenly from the front wheel,'' one witness, Hariman, said on ElShinta radio.
One passenger who survived told local TV station RCTI TV that "before landing I felt the plane shake strongly''.
"We overshot the runway, then I heard the sound of an explosion and ran through an emergency exit,'' continued passenger Muhammad Dimyati.
"I believe many passengers remained trapped on board.''
Another, local Islamic leader Dien Syamsudin, told how he jumped to safety.
"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," he said.
"I saw a foreigner. His clothes were on fire and I jumped from the emergency exit. Thank God I survived.''
The exact number of passengers aboard the jet was not immediately known. Local radio says 15 were killed and officials have confirmed ten dead - although it is feared the body count will rise.
It had left Jakarta at 6am local time for Yogjakarta, in the central province of Java.
Most of those on board were diplomatic staff from both Canberra and Jakarta, who were part of a trip following Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on his mission to Indonesia.
Mr Downer, who was travelling separately, was today expected to visit the central Javanese province for a series of meetings - including one with the Muhammadiyah, the region's largest Muslim organisation, and with the Sultan of Yogjakarta.
Another passenger who escaped the blaze told ElShinta radio there were still passengers aboard as the fire raged.
Operations director of national carrier Garuda Captain Ari Sapari said authorities were trying to rescue passengers.
"It caught alight when it landed,'' he said giving no more details.
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.
Aussie police in jet death crash | The Daily Telegraph
NO Dead Rat, I was not on board this one.
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