Micronesia: Airline changes statement after plane crashes into Pacific, says one passenger missing
The Papua New Guinean airline had earlier said all 47 passengers and crew members were evacuated safely from the sinking aircraft.
The airline operating a flight that crashed into a lagoon on Friday in the Federated States of Micronesia has said that one passenger is still missing. Air Niugini, the national carrier of Papua New Guinea, had earlier said all 47 passengers and crew members were evacuated from the sinking aircraft.
Air Niugini in a release said that as of Saturday afternoon, it was unable to account for a male passenger. The airline said it was working with local authorities, hospitals and investigators to try to find the man.
The airline also said six passengers were hospitalised in Micronesia, while other passengers and crew members were being moved to Port Moresby in Papua new Guinea.
The flight had landed short of the runway at Chuuk Island Airport and crashed into the sea. A flotilla of local boats rescued the passengers from the sinking aircraft.
Air Niugini issued a statement saying “the weather was very poor with heavy rain and reduced visibility at the time of the incident”.
The Boeing 737-800 is purportedly a 13-year-old aircraft that was previously operated by Jet Airways and Air India Express and was involved in a collision at Port Moresby in May, The Guardian reported.
