Plane skids off runway into ocean on Indonesian island of Bali

Plane skids off runway into ocean on Indonesian island of Bali

By Marian Smith, Staff Writer, NBC News

 

A passenger jet skidded off the runway into the ocean while attempting to land on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Saturday, local officials said.

"The aircraft was from Bandung, West Java, and about to land in Bali Ngurah Rai Airport but it probably failed to reach the runway and fell into the sea," Lion Air spokesman Edward Sirait said according to Reuters.

All 108 passengers and crew members survived, the company and the government said according to Reuters. Forty people were treated for broken legs, shock, and other injuries, but only four were admitted to a hospital, according to officials.

The plane stopped in shallow waters at least 650 feet past the end of the runway, Indonesian media reported. Local TV footage showed the plane with slightly ruptured fuselage floating in the water. People in life vests were also visible in the water.

Seven crew members and 101 passengers were aboard the plane, Sirait said.

Multiple pictures of the crippled plane circulated on Twitter.

"There was no sign at all it would fall but then suddenly it dropped into the water," passenger Tantri Widiastuti, 60, told Metro TV. "I saw holes in the floor of the plane ... we were evacuated quickly."

An investigation is under way, and the National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to the site.

Reuters reported that Lion Air is a popular budget airline in Indonesia, which has a poor airline safety record.

NBC News' Matthew DeLuca and Reuters contributed to this report.