Indonesian Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa said Monday evening the death toll in the air crash earlier in the day has reached 149, comprising 102 passengers and 47 residents on the ground.

Hatta said in an interview with the Detikcom online news service that the figure was based on various reports coming to him.

A Boeing 737-200 with 117 people onboard crashed into a densely populated residential area minutes after take-off from the Polonia Airport in the North Sumatra capital of Medan earlier in the day.

Hatta said the government plans to move the Polonia Airport to the quieter district of Kuala Namu following the accident.

"Tender for the Kuala Namu Airport will open this year. We hope we can build a new airport soon," he said from Medan.

The Chinese Embassy here confirmed that two Chinese businessmen were among the passengers perished in the disaster.

The two were identified as Xu Feng Chun and Xu Thien Wu, residents of Putian county in Fujian province.

The embassy said families of the two victims have been contacted and embassy officials will be immediately sent to Medan.

Source: Xinhua