Indonesia Military Plane Crash: Over 100 Feared Dead After Hercules C-130 Crashes In Medan, Rescue Efforts Underway

Update as of 8:18 a.m. EDT: At least 50 people have been killed after an Indonesian military plane carrying 113 people on board crashed Tuesday in a residential neighborhood of Medan city in North Sumatra, Reuters reported.

BBC reported that more than 100 people are feared dead, citing officials, who reportedly said there were no survivors.

The country’s air force temporarily grounded its remaining eight Hercules C-130 aircraft, after Tuesday's crash, which is linked to engine trouble, a military spokesman reportedly said.

A major recovery operation is underway to retrieve victims trapped beneath the plane’s fuselage and the rubble of residential buildings.

Update as of 5:34 a.m. EDT: At least 37 people have been killed after an Indonesian military plane crashed Tuesday in a residential neighborhood of Medan city in North Sumatra, a police official said, according to the Associated Press.

The pilot of the Hercules C-130 told the air control tower that the plane needed to turn back because of engine trouble, Air Marshall Agus Supriatna reportedly said.

"The plane crashed while it was turning right to return to the airport," Supriatna said, adding that there were 17 military personnel on board the plane.

Original story:

At least 30 people have been killed after an Indonesian military plane crashed Tuesday in a residential neighborhood of Medan city in North Sumatra, Reuters reported, citing an official. The C-130 transport plane reportedly crashed into several houses and a hotel in the area.

"The latest information we have is that 30 have died.... The number could go up," Hisar Turnip, a spokesman for Indonesia's search and rescue agency, told Reuters, adding that it was unclear how many of the victims were in the plane or on the ground.

Local television reportedly broadcast images from the city of an aircraft in flames. The Hercules C-130 plane -- headed to Tanjung Pinang, capital of Indonesia's Riau Islands province -- reportedly went down two minutes after take-off from a Medan airport.

Twelve crew members were on board the plane, air force operations commander Agus Dwi Putranto said on local television, according to the Associated Press (AP), adding that the total number of passengers on board was unknown. Authorities reportedly said that a rescue operation is underway.

A local hospital spokeswoman Sairi M. Saragih said that the hospital had received five bodies so far, according to AP.

This is a developing story.