BALI: All 108 passengers and crew survived after a new Lion Air jet crashed into the ocean and snapped into two while attempting to land on Saturday on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, injuring up to 45 people.
The injured were taken to different hospitals, but there appeared to be no serious injuries, said airport spokesman Alfasyah, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.
TV footage showed police and rescuers using rubber boats to evacuate the 101 passengers and seven crew members. The Boeing 737 could be seen sitting in the shallow water with a large crack in its fuselage.
Officials initially said the plane overshot the runway before hitting the water, but a spokesman for Lion Air, a low-cost carrier, said at a news conference that the plane crashed about 50 metres ahead of the runway. The weather was cloudy with rain at the time of the incident.
“It apparently failed to reach the runway and fell into the sea,” said the spokesman, Edward Sirait.—AP