This Article is From May 08, 2013

Cargo plane catches fire at Indonesia airport

Cargo plane catches fire at Indonesia airport
Wamena: A cargo plane hauling oil caught fire while being unloaded at an airport in eastern Indonesia on Wednesday, injuring at least one person.

Orange flames shot high into the air after a drum of oil fell from the aircraft while it was parked on the tarmac, Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said. He said the drum apparently sparked the fire in the British-made BAe-146/Avro RJ aircraft at an airport in Papua province's Wamena town.

Local police chief Lieutenant Colonel Fernando Napitupulu said the fire quickly roared through the plane, sending black smoke billowing. It took two hours to extinguish.

Witnesses said they heard an explosion before the fire began.

An investigation into the incident is under way and at least seven people, including the pilot and co-pilot, will be questioned, Napitupulu said.

At least one man was rushed to a hospital. He apparently works at the airport.

The plane belongs to Nusantara Air Charter and had regularly served cargo flights from the province's capital, Jayapura, to Wamena, capital of the mountainous district of Jayawijaya, Napitupulu said.

Air transportation is important in rugged Papua, the second-largest island in the vast Indonesian archipelago.

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