Passenger plane snaps in half on landing

Several people are hurt on Indonesia jet, but no reports of deaths

AFP - Getty Images Indonesian soldiers and police examine a Merpati airline 737 plane after it skidded off the runway on landing in Indonesia's West Papua city of Manokwari on April 13, 2010.

JAKARTA - An Indonesian passenger plane carrying more than 100 people veered off a runway as it landed in Papua, then snapped in half as it came to rest in a nearby river, a transport ministry official said on Tuesday.

About 20 passengers and a member of the cabin crew on the Merpati Nusantara Airlines plane were injured in the accident and taken to hospital, the official said.

Several small domestic carriers serve Indonesia's sprawling archipelago and many have poor safety records.

Papua, about 1,830 miles east of the capital, Jakarta, is one of the most isolated and underdeveloped regions of Indonesia.

There are few roads in the province, which occupies the western half of the island of New Guinea, and air travel is a common form of transport.

The latest incident occurred when the Merpati Boeing 737-300 tried to land in Manokwari, in Papua, in the rain, said Herry Bakti, director general for air transport at the transport ministry.

The European Commission, which had barred all Indonesian airlines from its airspace, only last year lifted a ban on four Indonesian carriers flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, Mandala, Airfast and Premiair after they had improved safety standards.