100 killed after Indonesian military plane crashes into residential area

No fewer than 100 people were killed after an Indonesian military plane, C-130 Hercules carrying 113 passengers crashed into Medan, the third largest residential area in Indonesia.

According to Indonesia's Air force chief, Air Marshall Agus Supriatna, the pilot told the control tower that the plane needed to turn back because of engine trouble. "The plane crashed while it was turning right to return to the airport," Supriatna said.

Also speaking, police chief of Medan city Mardiaz Dwihananto, said several bodies had been recovered from the wreckage.

"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," Dwihananto said.

The C-130 accident is the second time in 10 years that an airplane has crashed into a Medan neighborhood.

In September 2005, a Mandala Airlines Boeing 737 crashed into a crowded residential community shortly after takeoff from Medan's Polonia airport, killing 143 people including 30 on the ground. Medan, with about 3.4 million people, is the third most populous city in Indonesia after the capital, Jakarta, and Surabaya.