At least 20 killed in Indonesian military plane crash

A Hercules C-130 plane has crashed into a residential area of Medan city in Sumatra on Tuesday, killing at least 20 people, according to local media reports.

The ill-fated C-130 Hercules military plane carried 12 crews when the crash took place at 12:14 p.m. local time in Indonesia's North Sumatra province capital of Medan, hinting that the crash was caused by "trouble" with the plane, Indonesian Air Forces Commander Air Marshall Agus Supriatna said in a live interview with TV One.

Sairi Saragih, a spokeswoman for the Adam Malik hospital in the city, was quoted by local media as saying that 20 bodies have been brought to the hospital so far. Reports said that the crash may claim tens of people's lives as the plane crashed in the city's dense populated neighborhood.

"The plane carried 12 crews consisted of three pilots, one navigator and eight technicians. The plane was in PAUM (Air Military Transport Flight) mission that carried logistic and military personnel transferred to other region," said Agus.

He said that prior to the crash, the pilot asked to return to base.

"The plane experienced trouble before the crash. It can be proved from the pilot communication with officers at the airport tower control," Agus said, adding that the plane was manufactured in 1964, operated by Squadron 32 Abdurrahman Saleh in Malang, East Java.

The plane reportedly crashed two minutes after took off from Medan's old airport of Polonia which is located in downtown area. The plane crashed in a housing compound located in Jl. Jamin Ginting in the city.