The death toll in the Tuesday crash of a military transport plane in Medan, Indonesia, has risen to at least 86, according to an Indonesian Red Cross official.
Zukifli, the official, said 86 bodies had been recovered from the crash site. The recovery operations continue and the number is likely to rise, said Zukifli, who uses only one name.
Air Marshal Agus Supriatna, Indonesia’s air force commander, said the C-130 Hercules initially took off from Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma Airport on Tuesday with 122 people aboard — 110 passengers and 12 crew members. But it is not certain how many people were on the plane when it crashed. It made two stops along the way to Medan, in Pekanbaru and Dumai.
Smoke rose among scorched buildings in Medan after the plane crashed near a residential neighborhood.
Local television broadcast images of crowds gathering around the smoldering wreckage of the plane amid damaged buildings and a charred car.
It was not known what caused the disaster.
Maj. Gen. Fuad Basya, an Indonesian military spokesman, said the aircraft, built in the United States in the 1960s, had been inspected and cleared to fly before it took off from Soewondo Air Force Base in Medan. The crash site is about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the air base, he said.
The plane was carrying logistical supplies for bases on other Indonesian islands.
Indonesia’s national news agency Antara reported that the plane hit a busy road that connects Medan with the highland tourist resort of Brastagi.
