Medan, September 5:

The Boeing 737-200 shook violently seconds after take-off, veered to the left and slammed onto a busy street in Indonesia’s third-largest city, bursting into flames. At least 147 people died, many of them on the ground. But up to 16 passengers survived, including an 18-month-old boy shielded in his mother’s arms, officials said. The Mandala Airlines plane crashed in overcast weather 500 metres from the Medan airport in north Sumatra, shoving aside cars and motorcycles before plowing into a row of houses. Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the jetliner crash. Foul play was highly unlikely, said the airline’s managing director Asril Tanjung.

Thousands of people gathered to watch, some standing on rooftops and buses, as firefighters struggled in a light drizzle to put out the raging inferno, which sent thick black smoke high into the air. Several houses and dozens of cars and motorcycles also were engulfed in flames. Survivors said the Jakarta-bound plane started shaking violently when it reached an altitude of about 100 metres before tilting sharply and smashing to the ground. Some described a loud bang while the plane was still in flight, followed by a ball of fire. The plane was carrying 116 passengers and crew, airline officials said. Sixteen survived, according to Nining, a Mandala spokeswoman. Medan police chief Col Irawan Dahlan put the number of survivors from the plane at 15, and Transportation Minister Hatta Rajasa said there were 14.

An 18-month-old boy and his 32-year-old mother, Fritina, were among the survivors. “She’s not talking much,” said Fritina’s father, Haji Muhammad Ersani, after visiting the pair at a local hospital. “She’s in shock.” The boy died. The dead included the governor of North Sumatra province, who was heading to the capital for a meeting with the president.