All 117 aboard an Indonesian plane that crashed shortly after takeoff are dead, a government spokesman said on Monday. (Photo: Xinhua)

    MEDAN, Indonesia, Sept. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- An Indonesian passenger plane with 117 people on board crashed into a residential area in the North Sumatra capital of Medan minutes after take-off Monday morning, killing more than 130 people aboard and on the ground.

    The Boeing 737-200 belonging to low-cost carrier Mandala Airlines hit dozens of houses and vehicles and landed on the YaminGinting street in Medan, before it burst into flames.

    The ill-fated plane took-off at 09:40 local time (02:40 GMT) heading to Jakarta.

    "The plane unusually shook but the cabin crew didn't say anything. So I thought it was normal and nothing would happen," Freddy Ismail, a passenger who survived the accident, told reporters at the Adam Malik hospital in Medan.

    Freddy, 53, said stewardesses had just concluded showing the routine simulated procedures for emergencies when the accident happened.

    The plane carried 112 passengers and five crew members. North Sumatra Governor Rizal Nurdin and two senators of the Regional Representative Council (DPD), or the upper House, are among the death toll.

    Speaking to journalists in Medan, Mandala's president Asril Hamzah Tanjung revealed that the plane was manufactured in 1981 and certified worth flying until 2016.

    There was a 'take-off failure' but "whether it was caused by bad weather or mechanical problems remains unknown," he said.

    Hundreds of policemen, soldiers, paramedics and residents involved in the evacuation process under heavy rain.

    Mandala claimed that at least six passengers survived the disaster and underwent treatment at two hospitals in Medan, around 1,500 km northwest of Jakarta.

    There were conflicting reports about the number of people killed on the ground, but a member of the search and rescue team put it at 30.

    The Polonia airport is surrounded by densely populated housing complexes in Medan, the biggest city on Sumatra island.

    It was the fourth major air accident in the country in the lastten months, after an MD-82 belonging to the Lion Air skidded off the runway in Central Java leaving 31 people dead last November, and two police aircraft crashed in separate accidents that killed 21 people in February and September.

    President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa to launch a thorough investigation into the Mandala accident and take steps to "prevent future disasters."

    The National Committee for Transportation Safety (KNKT) immediately deployed seven investigators to Medan to investigate the accident.

    The cabin voice recording, known as black box, was found about five hours after the crash, Mandala spokesman Alex Wijoyo said.

    The black box will likely be brought to the United States, or Australia, for further investigation, he said, adding that the matter would be decided by the Ministry of Transportation.

    In Jakarta, Vice President Jusuf Kalla urged air operators to apply strict controlling measures following the Monday's accident.

    Indonesia has at least 22 low-cost carriers, many of them have been forced to cut spending to keep low fares amid intense competition. Enditem