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JAKARTA - At least 49 people have been confirmed dead after a plane with 140 on board - including Australians - crashed and burst into flames at Indonesia's Yogyakarta Airport.
Garuda Airlines said there were 133 passengers and seven crew on flight GA-200 from Jakarta when it crashed at 7am today (1pm NZT).
"We found 48 dead bodies at the spot. One person died at Sardjito hospital," provincial secretary Bambang Susanto said, referring to the city's main medical centre.
The New Zealand Ambassador in Indonesia says a New Zealand diplomat is in the process of visiting the three hospitals injured survivors are being treated in.
As yet it is unconfirmed if any Kiwis have been caught up in the tragedy.
Indonesia's Ministry for Transport said some 76 survivors had been taken to hospital, Sky News reported.
Witnesses said the Boeing 737-400 hit the ground and then overshot the runway, before being engulfed in flames. Others reported hearing explosions.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said there had been a "significant loss of life".
"I'm very sorry to inform you there appears to have been a very serious plane crash in Yogyakarta where a Garuda jet appears to have overshot the runway," Mr Howard told Southern Cross Broadcasting.
"There appears to have been a significant loss of life. There were up to 10 Australians on board and not all of those have been accounted for."
The Australians included journalists, a policeman and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) member and diplomatic staff who were taking part in a tour of Indonesia by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.
Mr Howard said Australia had offered to provide emergency aid.
"I've given authority for any aircraft, medical assistance and the like that is needed -- not only for the Australians but for others involved in the accident -- to be made available immediately," he said.
A spokesman for DFAT said Mr Downer's RAAF flight was on route from Jakarta to Yogyakarta carrying additional consular and medical resources.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) resources had also been made available to DFAT at the crash scene, he said. Sky News said 16 survivors had been taken to Yogyakarta's main airport and another 16 were being treated at a military hospital.
AFP news agency said airport official, Captain Yos Bintoro, had told Elshinta radio dozens of people had been killed.
"I saw many bodies, dozens of bodies badly burnt near the exit," he said. "I saw people dead in the cockpit. I cannot say if that's the pilot or co-pilot."
It said another witness, Hariman, told the station: "The plane is burnt. The fire came suddenly from the front wheel".
"It is true that a plane caught fire while landing. It happened when it overshot beyond the runway and burst into flames," Yogyakarta provincial secretary Bambang Susanto told Reuters through texted messages.
"The number of passengers is still unclear but we know that there are passengers being treated at the air force hospital," he added.
"The plane overshot the runway during landing and hit the airport fences," Julianto, one of the survivors, told Metro TV.
"I was sitting at the back of the plane and people started to jump out of the plane after that. Some even jumped into the paddy field," he said.
Associated Press quoted passenger Muhammad Dimyati as saying "We overshot the runway, then I heard the sound of an explosion and ran through an emergency exit.
"I believe many passengers remained trapped on board."
Indonesia has suffered from a string of transport accidents in recent months, including an Adam Air plane that disappeared in January with 102 passengers and crew on board, and a ferry sinking in late December in which hundreds died.
- REUTERS, AAP, NEWSTALK ZB, NZHERALD STAFF
