Four Of The 32 People Aboard The Aircraft Reportedly Survive

Reports out of Papua New Guinea indicate that an Airlines PNG Dash 8 went down Thursday in a storm on a flight from Lae to Madang. The flight was reportedly carrying parents on their way to a university graduation.

File Photo

There were 32 people on board the flight, and early media reports are that four have survived, according to the Australian foreign ministry. Two of the survivors included the pilots who were from Australia and New Zealand.

The French news service AFP reports that the Papua New Guinea Accident Investigation Commission said the plane went down in poor weather near the mouth of the Gogla River just 13 miles short of its destination. It was not known if the weather caused the accident, or what other factors may have been involved.

The airplane reportedly broke in half after impact, and one survivor said he was able to escape through a break in the fuselage. Along with the pilots and the one passenger, the fourth survivor was a crewmember on the plane.

FMI: www.casapng.gov.pg