Updated 9.11pm: An Indonesian military transport plane has crashed shortly after take-off in a city on Sumatra island, exploding in a ball of flames and damaging nearby buildings.
The death toll has risen to 38, and that's expected to go higher.
The military transport plane crashed into a city on Sumatra island and exploded in a ball of flames.
Police say five or six bodies have so far been recovered from the wreckage of the plane and buildings after the crash, which occurred in a residential area.
The Indonesian air force Hercules C-130 plane had 12 crew aboard.Â
Dramatic pictures on social media showed large crowds and emergency services gathering around the flaming wreckage, with the fuselage of the aircraft visible among thick plumes of black smoke. Buildings in the vicinity of the crash zone were also clearly damaged.
"A Hercules was... transporting military logistics from Medan," military spokesman Fuad Basya said.
The plane took off 12.08pm (1508 AEST) from an air force base and crashed in the city about two minutes later about five kilometres from the base, he said.
The plane had 12 crew on board.
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