An Indonesian military transport plane carrying troops and their families has crashed on the island of Java, killing at least 98 people, the BBC reports. At least two people died on the ground as the plane hit houses before skidding into a rice field where it caught fire.

The plane, en route from Jakarta to eastern Java, was preparing to land at a nearby military base.

It is not yet confirmed what caused the crash, but local people said they heard explosions and saw a wing fall off.

The C-130 Hercules had been carrying about 110 passengers and crew. At least 10 children were reported to have been on board.

About 15 passengers – some with serious burns – survived, officials said.

Eyewitnesses spoke of a big explosion before the plane came down near the town of Madiun.

“I heard at least two big explosions and saw flashes of fire inside the plane,” a man working in a nearby rice field said, quoted by AP news agency.

“The wing snapped off and fell to the ground,” he said.

Another local said nuts and bolts also fell from the sky.

One survivor said it felt like the plane’s engines just stopped and then the aircraft began to break apart in mid-air.

The man, who was interviewed on local TV, was thrown clear of the plane as it came down.

Another who survived but was trapped in the wreckage said he heard several blasts, “then it (the plane) started wobbling from left to right,” AP reported.

“It crashed to the ground and I was pinned under several people. I heard screaming before losing consciousness,” the soldier said from his bed at a military hospital.

(Source: BBC / YWN-112)