Air Niugini plane overshoots runway and crashes into the Pacific Ocean in Micronesia; passengers swim for their lives
The Air Niugini plane ditched into a lagoon after missing the runway and crashes into a sea in the tiny South Pacific nation of Micronesia on Friday. Following which the passengers had a narrow escape and were forced to swim for their lives. The plane immediately began sinking.
The Air Niugini flight Boeing 737 was attempting to land at Weno airport in Micronesia but ended up half submerged in Chuuk lagoon after the accident.
"It was supposed to land but instead of landing it was 150 yards short and she went down," Jimmy Emilio, general manager of Chuuk Airport at Weno in Micronesia, reported Reuters. "We don't really know what happened ... people were rescued by boats - 36 passengers and 11 crew were all rescued, only the plane is sinking right now," he said.
All the 36 passengers and 11 crew were rescued safely and were taken to hospital but no serious injuries were reported. Emilio said the cause of the crash was unclear.
"Somebody has to look into that and let us now," he told the news website. "So far, we don't know why they went down."
"Air Niugini can confirm that all on board were able to safely evacuate the aircraft," the firm said in a brief statement. "The airline is making all efforts to ensure the safety and immediate needs of our passengers and crew." Air Niugini is Papua New Guinea's national airline.
First published: 28 September 2018, 14:01 IST