YOGYAKARTA (Agencies): Investigators picked through the charred debris of a Boeing 737-400 that burst into flames after careering off a runway in Indonesia, as forensic doctors Thursday struggled to identify the 21 people killed, many burned beyond recognition.
About 117 dazed and bloodied survivors staggered from the jetliner after it broke through a fence and came to rest in a rice paddy on Wednesday. Most escaped without major injuries, although several suffered burns and broken bones.
Those killed were trapped in the wreckage of the Garuda Airlines plane after it caught fire, sending billowing clouds of black smoke and orange flames high into the air. The plane had been carrying 140 passengers and crew, officials said.
Antara news agency reported forensic teams could identified eight of the 21 casualties of the jetliner fire. The teams found difficulty to identify the bodies because many of them were badly burned.
They are Suwarni from Yogyakarta, Oemaryati from Yogyakarta, Zaenah from Jakarta, Olga alias Supardi Wahyu from Jakarta, Giyarti Purnomo from Jakarta, Koesnadi Harjasoematri from Yogyakarta, FX Sukamto from Jakarta, and Priyo Sujalmo from Surabaya.
The accident at Yogyakarta international airport on Java island was the third plane crash in as many months in Indonesia, raising urgent questions about the safety of the country's booming airline sector.
Two people were missing and five Australians were feared to be among the dead.
Australian and Indonesian crash investigators Thursday examined the blackened fuselage and other parts of the plane scattered over a brilliant green rice paddy at the end of the runway, taking photos and notes as they worked.
"We are working hard to investigate the crash, we can not even make a preliminary conclusion yet, but it is clear there are no indications of sabotage or intentional explosions in this crash as yet," Joseph Tumenggung, the head of the investigation team,told The Associated Press.
Alexandra Bertellotti, a journalist with Italian broadcaster RAI, said the plane was going at a "crazy speed" as it approached Yogyakarta airport after a 50-minute flight from the capital, Jakarta.
"It was going into a dive and I was certain we would crash on the ground," he told the Italian news agency ANSA. "I was sitting behind the wing. I saw that the pilot was trying to stop it, but it was too fast. It literarily bounced on the strip."
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