Indonesian military plane crash kills 98

AN Indonesian military transport plane carrying 110 passengers and crew crashed and burst into flames in East Java yesterday, killing at least 98 people on board and on the ground, officials said.

The C-130 Hercules aircraft ploughed into several houses on the ground, scattering debris and sending flames and billowing smoke into the air, in the latest of a series of air disasters in a country with a poor air safety record.

Air force spokesman Bambang Soelistyo said that 98 people had been killed, including two on the ground, while there were 15 survivors.