http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-13/plane-crashes-in-png/3570522
Three hours ago an Airlines PNG Dash 8 crashed on approach to Madang. Some say there was a fire on deck. We'll have to find out tomorrow. All we know is it crashed in Gogol, just a few miles out of town, on the beach across from Bilbil Island. 28 people are said to have died. Four people survived, and they are said to be the captain, co-captain, one crew and one passenger.
Grief everywhere. Facebook is filling up with shocked comments and prayers. The phone is filling with SMS messages. And alot of people, at 9.30 PM, are already asleep only to wake tomorrow morning to horrible news.
I hope hope hope it was fast for everyone.
----The latest news is that the parents of Divine Word University students were arriving tonight for a special christening of the children this weekend. Crowds of DWU students can be heard crying outside the police station tonight waiting for more news.
Passenger plane crashes in Papua New Guinea - 28 feared dead
- by: Tim Vollmer and Henry Budd
- From: The Daily Telegraph
- October 13, 2011 11:57PM
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Crash ... a plane similar to the one reported in the PNG incident. Source: The Daily Telegraph
AN aircraft crashed in Papua New Guinea last night, with 28 people believed dead.
Early reports indicated Australians were possibly on board the Dash 8 aircraft operated by Airlines PNG.
The flight was enroute from Lae to the resort port town of Madang, when it went down over land in bad weather about 6pm yesterday.
The plane was carrying 32 passengers when it crashed 20km south of its destination, a spokesman for the Accident Investigation Commission said.
People from a nearby village are believed to have rescued four crew members who survived, though with serious burns.
However, police feared last night that all 28 passengers had died.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was last night seeking to confirm with PNG authorities whether any Australians were onboard.
"There were reports of fire and there have been some fatalities," AIC spokesman Sid O'Toole told the ABC.
It is believed that most of the passengers on board were parents on their way to attend the thanksgiving for the children attending the Divine Word University in Madang.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Papua New Guinea said the doomed plane sent out a distress call before the crash.
Australia has sent four army Blackhawk helicopters to the crash site to assist with the search and rescue effort at the request of PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, according to local media reports.
Mr O'Neill had been back in the country for less than an hour after flying in from Australia when he was informed of the crash.
The Blackhawks were in Port Moresby for joint defence force exercises and were immediately dispatched to the crash site.
The recovery of victims and crash scene investigations were expected to begin at first light.
The PNG Public Enterprises Minister Sir Mekere Morauta expressed his sympathy for those who have lost their lives in the crash.
"This is a terrible accident, and many people have died," Mr Morauta said.
"I offer my condolences to the families of the victims of this disaster.
"I join with all other Papua New Guineans in mourning our loss."
It 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 on board including nine Australians.
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