Indonesian crash in city kills 117 on jet, others on ground
Jakarta, Indonesia – An Indonesian jetliner crashed into a crowded residential neighborhood in the city of Medan shortly after takeoff today, killing all 117 on board and an unknown number on the ground, officials said.
The Mandala Airlines Boeing 737 was heading to Jakarta when it crashed one minute after takeoff and burst into flames, said Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa.
It was carrying at least 117 passengers and crew, said the airline’s acting president, Maj. Gen. Hasril Hamzah Tanjung.
“They have all died,” Edi Sofyan, a government spokesman in Medan, told The Associated Press by telephone. There were also casualties on the ground, he said, though he did not know how many.
Smoke billowed from the burning debris and dozens of houses and at least 10 cars were in flames or damaged. Hundreds of policemen, paramedics and residents were trying to evacuate victims.
Officials said one of the dead included the governor of North Sumatra province, who was heading to the capital for a meeting with the president.
“We’re having a hard time getting to the bodies, because of the heat,” said Syahrial Anas, a doctor overseeing the removal of charred bodies.
CALEDONIA TOWNSHIP, Mich.
Farmhouse blast kills six siblings left alone
A late-night explosion blew apart a rural farmhouse, killing six siblings who had been visiting from out of state and severely burning three other young people.
The blast Saturday leveled the two-story home and could be felt several miles away, said Shiawassee County Sheriff Jon Wilson.
“It’s about level, right down to the foundation,” Wilson said Sunday. “You would wonder how anyone could have survived.”
The victims were siblings, 2 to 19 years old. The injured, ages 7 to 18, were hospitalized in critical condition Sunday in Flint, said Detective Sgt. Kathy Taylor. The cause of the blast is under investigation.
The children and teens had apparently been left alone while family members were visiting another relative, Taylor said.
Caledonia Township is about 90 miles northwest of Detroit.
CARSON, Calif.
Apartment fire south of L.A. kills 5 children
Fire roared through a two- story apartment Sunday morning, killing five children who were found in upstairs bedrooms, authorities said.
Three girls and a boy, ages 6 to 8, were pronounced dead at the scene, and a 10-year-old girl died at a hospital, said Los Angeles County fire Inspector Ron Haralson.
All the adults in the apartment, about 20 miles south of Los Angeles, escaped unharmed, he said.
It was not immediately clear how the fire started.
MIAMI
Maria grows to be season’s 5th hurricane
Maria intensified and developed into the season’s fifth hurricane Sunday, growing stronger over warm water in the open Atlantic Ocean.
The storm had maximum sustained wind of 75 mph – only 1 mph higher than the minimum threshold for hurricane status – and was centered 645 miles southeast of Bermuda.
It was moving north-northwest at 14 mph and was expected to turn to the north later Sunday or early today.
“On this track, Maria should remain well to the east of Bermuda and only pose a threat to shipping interests,” said a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
MEXICO CITY
Officials pledge probe of fatal boat accident
Authorities pledged an investigation Sunday into a boat accident on the ancient “floating gardens” canal system in the Xochimilco district of Mexico City that killed one young man.
More than a dozen students were detained after the Saturday accident, in which a number of flat-bottomed tourist boats capsized or swamped, sending dozens of Mexican college-prep students tumbling into the murky waters of the canals.
A group of several dozen students rented six of the narrow boats, had the boat operators lash them together and then began drinking alcoholic beverages.
Some of the students reportedly began jumping up and down, cracking one of the wooden skiffs in half; the frightened passengers then rushed onto the remaining boats, sinking them.
MEXICO CITY
Mudslide razes shack; 3 kids killed, 1 injured
A mudslide collapsed a tin- roofed shack following heavy rains in the mountains west of Mexico City on Sunday, killing three children and injuring a fourth.
The mudslide occurred in the town of Dos Rios, one of the poor communities where makeshift homes cling to the slopes in the pine-covered mountainsides just west of the capital.
The tiny shack was crushed by the weight of the soil; all the victims were members of the same family. The father and mother survived, as did the eldest boy, 7, who suffered fractures to his arms but is listed in stable condition.
However, the three younger children – ages 8 months to 7 years – died.
TORONTO
Cheney cancels trip to Canada after Katrina
Vice President Dick Cheney has postponed a visit to Canada this week in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, officials said.
Cheney had planned to visit Alberta on Thursday and Friday, stopping first in Calgary, then visiting Fort McMurray and touring its tar sands projects.
No new date was proposed for the visit.
Canada is the largest supplier of crude and refined oil to the United States, having supplied 2.1 million barrels a day in 2004, according to the federal government. Canada provides 17 percent of U.S. oil imports and 10 percent of American oil consumption.
