Indonesia military plane crashes, killing 24

Indonesia military plane crashes, killing 24
Mon Apr 6, 2009 8:42am EDT
(Updates to confirm death toll)

JAKARTA, April 6 (Reuters) - Twenty-four people died after an Indonesian military plane on a parachute training exercise crashed into a hangar at a base in West Java on Monday, an air force spokesman said.

The Fokker 27 aircraft had 17 advanced parachute trainees, one instructor, and six crew on board, Bambang Soelistyo said.

"We have recovered all of the bodies and we are in the process of identifying them," Soelistyo said.

The cause of the crash, which took place near Bandung, the capital of West Java province, is still being investigated, he said. (Reporting by Telly Nathalia; Writing by Ed Davies; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)



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A member of a medical team tries to identify bodies in a military hospital in Bandung, West Java April 6, 2009. Twenty-four people died after an Indonesian military plane on a parachute training exercise crashed into a hangar at a base in West Java on Monday, an air force spokesman said. REUTERS/Stringer (INDONESIA DISASTER IMAGE OF THE DAY TOP PICTURE) QUALITY FROM SOURCE