More
than 100 passengers had a miracle escape today after a plane overshot a
runway off the coast of Bali and crashed into the sea. Eyewitnesses
said passengers fearing for their lives screamed in panic as the Lion
Air jet overshot the runway at Ngurah Rai Airport, near Denparsar. The
aircraft, carrying 101 passengers and seven crew members - then fell
into the sea from a height of about 50 metres.
Many
of the passengers escaped through emergency doors which opened half way
along the fuselage and made their way to the shore in inflatable yellow
dinghies.
After being evacuated off the plane, they were taken to the airport terminal for treatment.
Airport officials said that several people were injured in the crash, but the extent of their injuries were not known.
Lion Air is currently banned from flying with the European Union because of concerns over its safety levels.
Pictures
from the scene show the passenger jet with its distinctive red Lion
name on the side lying partially submerged in the water near rocks at
the end of the runway.
The
plane had broken its back - the rear section drooped further into the
water and a large split could be seen in the last portion of the jet.
Other
passengers milled about at the airport as police and officials
attempted to establish what had happened to cause the jet to crash into
the sea.
Bali Police Chief Arif Wahyunadi said: 'All passengers and crew have been taken off the aircraft as it lies in the sea.
'They are being attended to at the airport.'
I
Made Krisna Maharta, an official with Bali's search and rescue agency,
said all of the passengers and crew were safely rescued and that 22
people were taken to three different hospitals with various injuries. He
said initial reports showed there were 101 passengers and seven crew
members aboard the plane.
Mr
Wahyunadi said the jet had originated in the city of Bandung,
Indonesia's third largest city - a tourist attraction because of its
ancient architecture
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