13 soldiers killed as Indonesian air force plane crashes in Papua

JAKARTA - A Hercules plane operated by the Indonesian air force crashed in Papua province of eastern Indonesia on Sunday, killing all 13 people on board, Air Force spokesman Jemi Trisonjaya told Xinhua by phone.

The incident occurred after the aircraft hit a mountain near an airport in Wamena district, the spokesman said.

"All the bodies of the 13 persons have been recovered from the wreckage of the plane. They are being identified now, as they are damaged," said Trisonjaya.

All the 13 persons were air force personnel, 12 of them were crew and one was from radar unit, he added.

The plane departed from an airport in Timika district on an exercise mission for upgrading skills of junior pilots. Poor weather was blamed for the incident, the spokesman said.

All the bodies of the victims will be transported to Abdurrahman Saleh airport in Malang of East Java, he added.