Indonesian plane skids off Batam runway, five hurt
10 Mar 2008 08:47:03 GMT Source: Reuters
(Adds injuries) JAKARTA, March 10 (Reuters) - An Indonesian passenger plane carrying 174 people skidded off the runway in heavy rain during a landing on the island of Batam on Monday, injuring five people, an airline spokesman and a doctor said. The Boeing 737-400 operated by local budget carrier Adam Air overshot the runway on Batam, which is an Indonesian island near Singapore, damaging its right wing, said airline spokesman Danke Drajat. "It rained heavily at the airport but whether it was due to the weather it is not for us to say," Drajat said, adding that the national transport safety committee was investigating. The official said that several people had been treated for shock but a doctor said later that five passengers were taken to Batam's general hospital, including one with a neck collar. The doctor, who declined to be identified, said it was unclear if any of the injuries were serious, but most of the victims had been released. The plane had flown from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. Indonesia's airline industry has grown rapidly in the past decade following liberalisation, with the launch of new players and a wider choice of routes across the sprawling archipelago. However, the world's fourth-most populous country has suffered a string of airline disasters in recent years, raising concerns about safety standards and prompting the European Union to ban all Indonesian airlines from its airspace. In January 2007, an Adam Air plane crashed into the sea off Sulawesi island, with all 102 on board missing and presumed dead. Adam Air planes have also experienced a number of non-fatal incidents in recent years. (Reporting by Ahmad Pathoni; Editing by Ed Davies and Sanjeev Miglani)
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