Port Moresby: A plane
carrying 32 people crashed in the wilds of Papua New Guinea
on Thursday with an unknown number of casualties, Australian media
reported.
The Airlines PNG Dash 8 aircraft crashed while flying from
Lae to Madang on the South Pacific island nation's north
coast, Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
The country's Accident Investigation Commission spokesman,
Sid O'Toole, said there were 32 people on board when the
twin-propellor plane crashed 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of
Madang, ABC reported.
"There were reports of fire and there have been some
fatalities," O'Toole said.
He said there were survivors but it was not clear how
many. ABC later reported unconfirmed reports of four
survivors.
Police and ambulances had reached the crash site and
investigators would travel there tomorrow, O'Toole said.
Phone calls to national police headquarters in Port Moresby
and the Civil Aviation Authority went unanswered.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, October 13, 2011, 20:54