According to BBC, local TV reported that the military C130 Hercules airplane crashed into two houses and a car and burst into flames.
Military spokesman Fuad Basya has told the BBC that the plane came down soon after takeoff and that there were at least 12 crew members on board.
Officials say that bodies were recovered from the plane wreckage.
A major rescue operation is under way at the crash site, which is still covered in flames and thick black smoke.
According to Reuters, at least 30 people have been killed as a result of the crash.
"The latest information we have is that 30 have died... The number could go up," Hisar Turnip, a spokesman for Indonesia's search and rescue agency, told Reuters. It was not immediately clear how many of the victims were in the plane or on the ground.
The plane was on its way from an air force base in Medan to the remote Natuna islands and crashed a few minutes after takeoff.
REUTERS
