Indonesian Air Force personnel stand guard near the wreckage of a Garuda jetliner after it caught fire upon landing at Adisucipto airport today in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. A commercial jetliner carrying more than 130 people board burst into flames as it landed.

Jakarta, Indonesia ? An Indonesian jetliner carrying 140 people burst into flames as it landed on Java island today, trapping a number of people inside the burning plane, the airline and witnesses said.

Prime Minister John Howard said Indonesian officials had confirmed 49 deaths, and that some Australians may be among them.

“It is a terrible tragedy,” Howard told a nationally television news conference. “Many lives have been lost and our love and sympathy and condolences go to those who are suffering distress and grief.”

The Garuda airlines jet shook violently as it prepared to land and then overshot the runway, hitting fences and slamming into a rice field shortly before 7 a.m., survivors said.

Many passengers escaped and rescuers battled flames to reach those trapped inside, said Capt. Ari Sapari, operations director of national carrier Garuda. The blaze, which gutted the aircraft and sent black smoke billowing into the air, took two hours to put out.

Howard said Indonesian officials had confirmed 49 deaths, though it was not clear where that information came from.

Laras Widhyo, from Garuda’s Yogyakarta office, said at least 22 were killed and 92 were being treated at three hospitals, some with broken bones and burns. He said some passengers were thought to have walked away from the accident, making it difficult to confirm the death toll.

The state-owned airline said that 140 passengers and crew were on board. Howard said around 10 Australians were aboard the plane, but he could not confirm any Australian deaths.

The Australians on board were diplomatic staff and journalists who were traveling from the capital, Jakarta, ahead of Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer and Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock, who had been due to attend a function later today. Neither official was aboard the stricken plane.