At least 116 people are feared dead after an Indonesian air force transport plane crashed on Tuesday into a major city shortly after take-off and exploded in a fireball, officials said.

Buildings were left in ruins and cars reduced to flaming wrecks when the Hercules C-130 came down in a residential area of Medan, a city of two million on the island of Sumatra.

A rescue operation swung into action, with ambulances ferrying bodies from the site, and crowds of anxious residents gathering around a police cordon to view the smouldering wreckage.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressed sorrow at the accident, tweeting: “May the families be given patience and strength… May we remain protected from disaster.”

The plane took off at 12:08 pm (0508 GMT) from the airbase and crashed in the city about two minutes later, about five kilometres from the base, according to the military.

Shortly after take-off, the pilot had asked to return to base, Supriatna said, adding the aircraft might have suffered engine trouble. But he added the plane was in “very good condition” and had made several stops before arriving in Medan.