An explosion and fireball ripped through the air, apparently as the fire reached a fuel tank, according to the video. It showed dazed and burned victims, including Indonesians and Westerners, sitting on the floor or lying on gurneys in the airport terminal.

Bertellotti, the Italian survivor, told the British Broadcasting Corp. that the jet "kept rolling even after we reached the end of the runway."

"It got dark, objects started flying around, people started screaming. I remember that I kept cool, thinking only about escaping, nothing else," he said.

"A fire started three or four seats in front of me, on the right hand side of the plane. Everyone started screaming. A woman behind me kept pushing me and saying, 'Go, go, go,"' he said. "Luckily, I was close to the emergency exit and I jumped out, together with many other people. We landed on mud and grass. Soon, another explosion followed.

"After the second explosion, I didn't see more people jumping out of the plane."

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered an investigation, appointing the security minister to look into possible "nontechnical" causes, said spokesman Andi Mallarangeng, in an apparent reference to sabotage.

It took more than two hours to put out the fire.

The Australians on board were diplomatic staff and journalists who were traveling from the capital, Jakarta, ahead of Australia's Foreign Affairs minister and Attorney-General Philip Ruddock, who had been due to attend a function later Wednesday. Neither official was aboard the stricken plane.

Howard said he had no information foul play was suspected.

"I have not received any advice suggesting it was anything other than a tragic accident," he told reporters in Melbourne. "I've not received any advice suggesting that there was sabotage or a terrorist attack."

Another survivor told local TV station RCTI TV that "before landing I felt the plane shake strongly."

"We overshot the runway, then I heard the sound of an explosion and ran through an emergency exit," said passenger Muhammad Dimyati.

Some survivors grabbed their hand luggage before escaping.

Indonesia has been hit by a string of transportation disasters in recent months. In late December, a passenger ferry sank in a storm in the Java Sea, killing more than 400 people.

Days later, a passenger plane operated by the budget airline Adam Air crashed into the ocean, killing all 102 people on board. A ship that sank near the capital's port left at least 50 dead.

The government responded by saying it would ban local commercial airlines from operating planes more than 10 years old, although most experts say maintenance and the number of takeoffs and landings are the most important factors in preventing accidents.

Radjasa, the transportation minister, faced new calls for his resignation.

"He should not be allowed to wash his hands of this," Burhanudddin Napitulu, senior lawmaker from the country's ruling party. "The public has lost all trust. They are too scared to take planes, trains or ferries any more because the disasters are never-ending."