Major air crash near Madang may have cost 28 lives

YESTERDAY’S CRASH of an Airlines PNG Dash 8 near the mouth of the Gogol River is one of Papua New Guinea’s worst aviation disasters.

Thirty-two people were aboard the aircraft that went down in dense forest about 20 km south of Madang.  It was on a flight from Lae and crashed at about 5 pm..

Local villagers told the National Broadcasting Commission they believed there were four survivors.

“‘All I can tell you is there have been reports of survivors and reports there have been fatalities,’’ PNG Accident Investigation Commission’s spokesman, Sid O’Toole, told AAP.

He said it wasn’t clear how many survivors there were, although reports this moning suggested both pilots were among them.

Local firefighter Joe Dunar said the crash happened at Gogol and that rescuers had reached the scene at about 9 pm.

The thoughts of PNG Attitude and its readers are with the families and friends of the victims.

Photo: Airlines PNG Dash 8 at Mt Hagen airport [Peter Kranz]

Sources: ANC, NBC, AAP, 14 October

Comments

[Leonard Roka]

Yes, Peter and Keith, things all cleared.

I am really feeling sorry for a fellow senior student of our West New Britain student group who had not slept weeping and, now that things are confirmed, I just don't know how she will endure.

Lord have mercy on her crying heart.

[Peter Kranz]

Leonard - I am afraid it was a flight from Lae to Madang.

From the latest ABC report -

"The Airlines PNG Dash 8 was flying from Lae to Madang on the country's north coast when it crashed at about 6:00pm with 32 people on board. Only four are believed to have survived.

"It is believed most of the passengers were parents travelling to Madang for their children's graduation ceremony at the Divine Word University.

"Local reports say the survivors were taken to a clinic in a village close to the crash site last night."

My heart goes out to all those affected. A sad, sad day for Divine Word and Madang, as well as all of PNG.

[Leonard Roka]

Sort this out: a flight to Lae or a flight coming into Madang?

There are final year students at Divine Word University that are said to be moaning all night for their parents in that flight.

Sort out, please.
____________

The flight was from Lae. Apologies for the earlier confusion - KJ

[Peter Kranz]

I believe the flight was from Lae, on approach to Madang.