BREAKING NEWS — Police and witnesses say they heard an explosion as a commercial airliner was flying over western Indonesia and found debris from the plane scattered near a shopping mall.
Police Col Eka Yudha told TVOne the plane was a Qantas Airbus, which was flying from Singapore to Australia when it had to dump fuel.
He was quoted as telling the station it had made an emergency landing, but later told The Associated Press the jetliner was apparently still circling the sky.
The report could not be independently confirmed.
Large pieces of debris — including panels painted white and red — were found on the Indonesian island of Batam, where witnesses reported hearing the loud bang early Thursday.
TWITTER:
Airbus A380
Singapore-bound Qantas flight crashes near Indonesia's Batam Island
Qantas Airways 32 SIN to SYD
Status Landed - Delayed 30+
Departure SIN (Changi Airport) Nov 03, 2010 09:30
Arrival SYD (Kingsford Smith Airport) Nov 03, 2010 20:15
Carrier QF (Qantas Airways)
Aircraft Type 388
Departure Arrival
Sched Estim Actual Delay Sched Estim Actual Delay
Published 09:30 20:15
Gate 09:30 09:53 23 min late 20:15 20:51 20:52 37 min late
Runway 10:28 20:46