Dozens dead in Indonesia air crash

Rescuers with heavy machinery searched a shattered residential neighbourhood for any survivors from an Indonesian air force transport plane that crashed shortly after takeoff and killed more than 70 people.

The C-130 Hercules, carrying military personnel and their families, went down in Indonesia’s third-largest city of Medan, striking a building. Witness accounts suggested the plane suffered an engine fire before crashing.

Air force spokesman Rear Marshal Dwi Badarmanto said 74 bodies were recovered. About 30 of the dead were identified and included air force personnel and relatives, he added.