Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - The pilot of a Hawk 200 jet fighter which crashed near a housing area in Pekanbaru at 9.47 am local time has luckily survived.
According to an eyewitness, the ill-fated jet fighter was performing an aerobatic manoeuvre, along with two other similar aircraft, above the housing area.
"All of a sudden, the jetfighter piloted by Reza Yuli seemed out of control and started falling from the sky," said Jefri, a local resident.
"I was in my house when this happened. First, I heard a loud explosion. Then I saw the pilot ejecting from the plane and descending with a parachute," he explained.
Seconds after the loud explosion, the plane nosedived into an empty field near the housing area, Jefri added.
Despite the explosion, the pilot managed to survive the deadly aerial incident.
"The pilot is alive. I saw him behind a neighbour's house," Jefri stated.
While witnessing the horrifying incident, some of the area's residents ran helter-skelter in a bid to save their own lives.
"At that time, we were scared there might be more explosions," Jefri said.
According to initial reports, the plane belonged to the Indonesian Air Force and was on a routine training mission before it crashed.
Not long after the incident, hundreds of military personnel cordoned off the crash site from journalists and nearby residents. (*)
