DHAKA: At least five people were killed Tuesday when an Indonesian military transport plane crashed into the city of Medan on Sumatra island and exploded in a ball of flames.

Police said, reports The Straits Times.

The C-130 Hercules plane crashed on Tuesday shortly after take-off, exploding in a ball of flames and damaging nearby buildings.

Mardiaz Dwihananto, police chief of Medan city where the accident happened, told the media that five to six bodies had so far been recovered from wreckage of the plane and buildings after the crash in a residential area.

‘The bodies were in (the) debris of the plane and buildings... we are taking the bodies one by one by ambulance to Adam Malik hospital. We haven’t managed to evacuate all of the bodies.’

In international media outlet, however, cited Hisar Turnip, a spokesman for Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, as saying at least 30 people had been killed.

‘The latest information we have is that 30 have died.... The number could go up,’ he told the media.

It was not immediately clear how many people were in the plane but Metro TV reported there may have been 13 people on board.

Dramatic pictures on social media showed large crowds and emergency services gathering around the flaming wreckage, with the fuselage of the aircraft visible among thick plumes of black smoke.

Buildings in the vicinity of the crash zone were also clearly damaged.

BDST: 1235 HRS, JUN 30, 2015
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