Four survive plane crash in Papua New Guinea

Around 28 people are feared dead after a passenger aircraft crashed on Thursday (October 13) in the South Pacific island nation of, with only four survivors pulled from the wreckage, local aviation and embassy officials said.  

The Airlines PNG Dash 8 with 32 passengers and crew on board was en route from Lae to the resort town of Madang in PNG's north when it crashed in bad weather around 20km southeast of its destination, the PNG Accident Investigation Commission said.  

"The crew attempted to conduct a controlled emergency landing, but the aircraft broke up on impact. Part of the aircraft caught fire," said Erastus Kanburi, a representative from Airlines PNG. 

Most of the passengers on the aircraft were believed to be local Papuan parents on their way to attend student graduation ceremonies at Madang's Divine Word University.  

Airlines PNG said it had grounded its fleet of 12 aircraft until further notice and was co-operating with authorities to mount rescue and recovery efforts. A full investigation was under way by authorities and Airlines PNG as to the possible cause of the accident.  

The crash is the second fatal incident involving an Airlines PNG aircraft in recent years. In August 2009 an Airlines PNG Twin Otter crashed on approach to the Kokoda airstrip, killing all 13 people onboard, including nine Australians.