A passenger plane crashes into waters off the Indonesian resort island of Bali, injuring 40. Andrew Raven reports.
PANICKED passengers aboard a commercial jet which crashed into the sea off Bali say they were given no warning before the craft plummeted into the water.
Authorities advised no Australians were aboard the Lion Air plane, which slid into the sea outside Denpasar International Airport as it came into land about 6pm yesterday.
The Boeing 737 - carrying 101 passengers and seven crew - was on a domestic flight from Bandung in West Java.
Up to 45 people were injured.
An Australian surfer paddling nearby was reportedly among those who helped passengers, mostly believed to be locals, to the shore.
The injured were taken to several different hospitals for treatment, but there appeared to be no serious injuries, said airport spokesman Alfasyah, who like many Indonesians uses only one name. There were three foreigners on board - two Singaporeans and a French national - all of whom suffered slight injuries.
In this photo released by Indonesia's National Rescue Team, rescuers stand near the wreckage of a crashed Lion Air plane in Bali, Indonesia.
TV footage showed police and rescuers using rubber boats to evacuate the passengers and crew. The Boeing 737 could be seen sitting in the shallow water with a large crack in its fuselage.
Passenger Santy Wiastuti, being treated at Kasih Ibu Hospital for injuries to her leg, said there was no warning of the impending crash.
"There was no signal, anything, it just happened suddenly," Ms Wiastuti said.
Andis, another passenger, said there was a loud bang as the plane hit the water, prompting panic.
"I looked down. It was suddenly sea," Andis said.
This photo released by Indonesia's National Rescue Team shows rescuers at the crash site of a Lion Air plane in Bali, Indonesia.
Another survivor, Rusmaya, 50, said the crew yelled at passengers to put on life vests.
"My hand was shaking so someone helped me take it. The water was already in the plane," she said.
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 meters 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.
He said the Boeing 737-800 Next Generation plane was received by the airline last month and was declared airworthy. The plane originated in Bandung, the capital of West Java province, and had landed in two other cities on Saturday prior to the crash.
"We are not in a capacity to announce the cause of the crash,'' Sirait said, adding that the National Safety Transportation Committee was investigating.
"The aircraft was in landing position when suddenly I saw it getting closer to the sea, and finally it hit the water,'' Dewi, a passenger who sustained head wounds in the crash and uses one name, said.
"All of the passengers were screaming in panic in fear they would drown. I left behind my belongings and went to an emergency door,'' she said. "I got out of the plane and swam before rescuers jumped in to help me.''
Rapidly expanding Lion Air is Indonesia's top discount carrier, holding about a 50 per cent market share in the country, a sprawling archipelago of 240 million people that's seeing a boom in both economic growth and air travel.
The airline has been involved in six accidents since 2002, four of them involving Boeing 737s and one resulting in 25 deaths, according to the Aviation Safety Network's website.
A passenger injured in a plane crash on a stretcher is carried for a medical treatment at a hospital in Jimbarn, Bali, Indonesia.
Lion Air commercial director Edward Sirait said some passengers had been taken to a hospital in Denpasar.
"All passengers and crew are safe, 101 passengers and seven crew. They've been taken to the nearest hospital,'' he said.
Mr Sirait said that the plane was new, and began operating last year.
"The plane is Boeing 737-800 NG, Next Generation. It's a new one, a 2012 product,'' he said.
"It actually has sophisticated technology to anticipate accident. Let's see what the data says about that accident.''
This handout photo released by the Indonesian Police on April 13, 2013 shows a Lion Air Boeing 737 submerged in the water after skidding off the runaway during landing at Bali's international airport near Denpasar.
Lion Air started operating in 2000 and services more than 36 destinations, mostly in Indonesia.
The airline last month agreed to buy 234 Airbus planes and announced that it planned to target new routes in Asia, as well as a venture in Australia.
Lion Air is currently banned from flying to Europe due to broader safety lapses in the Indonesian airline industry that have long plagued the country. Last year, a Sukhoi Superjet-100 slammed into a volcano during a demonstration flight, killing all 45 people on board.
Hospital officials and paramedics said at least seven passengers were taken to Sanglah Hospital with head wounds and broken bones, the Associated Press reports.
Many passengers arrived with wet clothes and bruises.
The wreckage a crashed Lion Air plane sits on the water near the airport in Bali, Indonesia.
A spokeswoman with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra said efforts were being made to ascertain whether any Australians were on the flight.
"The Australian Consulate-General in Bali is making urgent inquiries to determine whether any Australian citizens may have been involved in air crash is Bali on Saturday afternoon,'' the spokeswoman said.
"At this time we are not aware that there are any Australian victims.''
Passengers said on Facebook they were stranded at the airport.
"A landing plane has overshot the runway and ended up in the water," one tourist, from Perth, said.
"As a result, the whole airport is closed and we're stranded."
Indonesia is one of Asia's most rapidly expanding airline markets, but is struggling to provide qualified pilots, mechanics, air traffic controllers and updated airport technology to ensure safety.
PANICKED passengers aboard a commercial jet which crashed into the sea off Bali say they were given no warning before the craft plummeted into the water.
Authorities advised no Australians were aboard the Lion Air plane, which slid into the sea outside Denpasar International Airport as it came into land about 6pm yesterday.
The Boeing 737 - carrying 101 passengers and seven crew - was on a domestic flight from Bandung in West Java.
Up to 45 people were injured.
An Australian surfer paddling nearby was reportedly among those who helped passengers, mostly believed to be locals, to the shore.
The injured were taken to several different hospitals for treatment, but there appeared to be no serious injuries, said airport spokesman Alfasyah, who like many Indonesians uses only one name. There were three foreigners on board - two Singaporeans and a French national - all of whom suffered slight injuries.
In this photo released by Indonesia's National Rescue Team, rescuers stand near the wreckage of a crashed Lion Air plane in Bali, Indonesia.
TV footage showed police and rescuers using rubber boats to evacuate the passengers and crew. The Boeing 737 could be seen sitting in the shallow water with a large crack in its fuselage.
Passenger Santy Wiastuti, being treated at Kasih Ibu Hospital for injuries to her leg, said there was no warning of the impending crash.
"There was no signal, anything, it just happened suddenly," Ms Wiastuti said.
Andis, another passenger, said there was a loud bang as the plane hit the water, prompting panic.
"I looked down. It was suddenly sea," Andis said.
This photo released by Indonesia's National Rescue Team shows rescuers at the crash site of a Lion Air plane in Bali, Indonesia.
Another survivor, Rusmaya, 50, said the crew yelled at passengers to put on life vests.
"My hand was shaking so someone helped me take it. The water was already in the plane," she said.
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 meters 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.
He said the Boeing 737-800 Next Generation plane was received by the airline last month and was declared airworthy. The plane originated in Bandung, the capital of West Java province, and had landed in two other cities on Saturday prior to the crash.
"We are not in a capacity to announce the cause of the crash,'' Sirait said, adding that the National Safety Transportation Committee was investigating.
"The aircraft was in landing position when suddenly I saw it getting closer to the sea, and finally it hit the water,'' Dewi, a passenger who sustained head wounds in the crash and uses one name, said.
"All of the passengers were screaming in panic in fear they would drown. I left behind my belongings and went to an emergency door,'' she said. "I got out of the plane and swam before rescuers jumped in to help me.''
Rapidly expanding Lion Air is Indonesia's top discount carrier, holding about a 50 per cent market share in the country, a sprawling archipelago of 240 million people that's seeing a boom in both economic growth and air travel.
The airline has been involved in six accidents since 2002, four of them involving Boeing 737s and one resulting in 25 deaths, according to the Aviation Safety Network's website.
A passenger injured in a plane crash on a stretcher is carried for a medical treatment at a hospital in Jimbarn, Bali, Indonesia.
Lion Air commercial director Edward Sirait said some passengers had been taken to a hospital in Denpasar.
"All passengers and crew are safe, 101 passengers and seven crew. They've been taken to the nearest hospital,'' he said.
Mr Sirait said that the plane was new, and began operating last year.
"The plane is Boeing 737-800 NG, Next Generation. It's a new one, a 2012 product,'' he said.
"It actually has sophisticated technology to anticipate accident. Let's see what the data says about that accident.''
This handout photo released by the Indonesian Police on April 13, 2013 shows a Lion Air Boeing 737 submerged in the water after skidding off the runaway during landing at Bali's international airport near Denpasar.
Lion Air started operating in 2000 and services more than 36 destinations, mostly in Indonesia.
The airline last month agreed to buy 234 Airbus planes and announced that it planned to target new routes in Asia, as well as a venture in Australia.
Lion Air is currently banned from flying to Europe due to broader safety lapses in the Indonesian airline industry that have long plagued the country. Last year, a Sukhoi Superjet-100 slammed into a volcano during a demonstration flight, killing all 45 people on board.
Hospital officials and paramedics said at least seven passengers were taken to Sanglah Hospital with head wounds and broken bones, the Associated Press reports.
Many passengers arrived with wet clothes and bruises.
The wreckage a crashed Lion Air plane sits on the water near the airport in Bali, Indonesia.
A spokeswoman with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra said efforts were being made to ascertain whether any Australians were on the flight.
"The Australian Consulate-General in Bali is making urgent inquiries to determine whether any Australian citizens may have been involved in air crash is Bali on Saturday afternoon,'' the spokeswoman said.
"At this time we are not aware that there are any Australian victims.''
Passengers said on Facebook they were stranded at the airport.
"A landing plane has overshot the runway and ended up in the water," one tourist, from Perth, said.
"As a result, the whole airport is closed and we're stranded."
Indonesia is one of Asia's most rapidly expanding airline markets, but is struggling to provide qualified pilots, mechanics, air traffic controllers and updated airport technology to ensure safety.