Garuda airliner crashes on Java, Indonesia, killing at least 21
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Garuda airliner crashes on Java, Indonesia, killing at least 21
Published: 2007/03/07 12:17:53 GMT
Sources: BBC News; Guardian Unlimited
Moments before the ill-fated Garuda flight GA 200 touched down at Yogyakarta airport, passenger Arianus Meuliala, a nationally renowned criminologist, sensed something was wrong.
"I noticed that the plane seemed to be going too fast and too high for a landing. It wasn't normal, it really wasn't normal. And I thought, hopefully, this won't lead to an accident."
He said he felt the plane hit the ground hard. Then it bounced, and was in the air again for a split second before it bounced again and started shaking violently.
Witnesses who watched the plane land say the front of the aircraft was on fire.
The Boeing 737-400 overshot the runway, and tore through the security fence, jumped over an irrigation canal, and came to an abrupt halt in the middle of a muddy paddy field.
Villagers living near the end of the runway ran to the scene, some of them offered their help.
Meanwhile, inside the cabin, the fire was spreading quickly.
Arianus was sitting in an aisle seat four rows from an exit.
"There was some smoke, then the fire flew over our heads, and everything was burning," said Arianus. "I was afraid the plane would explode."
Arianus said there was a stampede for the exit doors located above the wings.
He managed to jump out, even as the flames engulfed him, burning his arms, face and hair.
Then, after running away from the burning aircraft, there were two loud explosions as more jet fuel ignited.
"I was 10 meters away from the plane when it exploded - there were still others who were leaving the plane when the explosions occurred," said Arianus, who is now being cared for at a local hospital in Yogyakarta.
Distressing scenes
For much of the morning fire crews were busy putting out the flames of the smoldering wreckage.
Parts of the landing gear, the engines and pieces of luggage lay scattered around the crash site. For several hours the wreckage was too hot to approach.
But the Indonesian military, often tasked to carry out the grim search for bodies in the event of a disaster, worked quickly and by noon were able to remove 20 bodies from the wreckage.
"We initially guessed that there were 44 bodies inside the airplane, but when we proceeded with the search we only found 20 bodies," said Benyamin Dandel, a commander at a military air force base.
He added that the conflicting figures may have been due to the fact that some passengers may have gone straight home after the accident and had not been accounted for.
"We encourage everyone who was on this flight to please let us know their whereabouts," he said.
Garuda airlines later said 22 people had been confirmed dead with 118 survivors.
At Yogyakarta airport, there were distressing scenes as family members searched for information about their loved ones.
One woman, in tears, sighed with relief and then broke down when she heard that her husband had been taken to one of the hospitals and is able to speak and respond to doctor's questions.
Then there were stories of near misses.
Two Australian journalists were supposed be on the flight but missed it because it was overbooked.
Australian freelance cameraman Wayan Sukardo managed to film the aftermath of the crash for Australia's Seven News after crawling free from the wreckage with a suspected broken leg.
The plane wreckage can be seen burning in the footage, while the downed aircraft's jet engines are still going emitting a high-pitched whine.
Australian Financial Review reporter Morgan Mellish was one of eight Australian journalists on the Garuda airlines flight from Jakarta that crashed at Yogyakarta in central Java and is still unaccounted for.
Sydney Morning Herald reporter Cynthia Banham survived but sustained injuries as she escaped from the plane. She is reported to have 60% burns.
Journalists had been covering a trip to Indonesia by Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer. He was traveling on a separate plane and had been due to meet the head of a Muslim organization, Din Samsyuddin, who was also traveling on the Garuda flight that crashed.
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