Jakarta , Indonesia ( CNN ) -- A passenger plane crashed into a shallow waterway and broke in two after overshooting the runway in a remote area of Indonesia 's eastern Papua province on Tuesday , injuring 78 people on board . Bambang Ervan , a spokesman for Indonesia 's Transportation Ministry , said investigators to the airport in the coastal town of Manokwari where the Merpati Nusantara Airlines Boeing 737-300 had been attempting to land . There were reports that bad weather may have been a factor . The injured , many of whom suffered fractures , were taken to hospitals in the area . In all , the plane was carrying 103 passengers , including three children and three infants . Ervan said the aircraft bounced on the runway during landing , skidded and plunged into a nearby canal . Merpati , a cash-strapped state-owned airline which is in the process of upgrading its aging fleet , flies many of the more remote routes across Indonesia . Last year Merpati suffered two plane crashes in Papua . In July , a Merpati flight lost its front wheels as it took of from the town of Biak . A month later , another flight -- a Twin Otter aircraft -- crashed , killing 16 people on board . Air accidents are not infrequent in Papua , a mountainous area in the easternmost part of Indonesia . Two cargo planes and several smaller aircraft also crashed in the province last year . Indonesia has made efforts in recent years to improve its safety record . Last year the European Union 's Safety Commission lifted a ban on four Indonesian carriers . In Hong Kong , Tuesday , a Cathy Pacific flight from Surabaya in Indonesia made an emergency landing injuring eight people . Flight 780 from Surabaya , Indonesia , was carrying 309 passengers and 13 crew members , Cathay Pacific CEO Tony Tyler said at a news conference . Passengers and crew deplaned through the Airbus 330 's evacuation slides . The injured were taken to the territory 's Princess Margaret Hospital . Tyler said a full investigation will follow but engine trouble may have played a part in the incident . The north runway at the Hong Kong International Airport was closed for almost three hours after the emergency landing .
Merpati airlines jet crashes into canal after skidding on landing in Papua . Crash follows two accidents involving Biak Tuesday . State-owned Cathay Pacific is in process of upgrading its aging fleet . two hurt as Cathay Pacific flight makes emergency landing in Papua . .