1 missing in Pacific lagoon plane crash

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The airline operating a flight that crashed into a Pacific lagoon on Friday in Micronesia now says one man is missing, after earlier saying all 47 passengers and crew had safely evacuated the sinking plane.

Air Niugini said in a release 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 did not immediately respond to requests for more details about the passenger, such as his age or nationality.

Local boats helped rescue the other passengers and crew after the plane hit the water while trying to land at the Chuuk Island airport.

Officials said on Friday that seven people had been taken to a hospital. The airline said six passengers remained at the hospital yesterday, and all of them were in stable condition.

What caused the crash and the exact sequence of events remains unclear. The airline and the US Navy both said the plane landed in the lagoon short of the runway. Some witnesses thought the plane overshot the runway.

Passenger Bill Jaynes said the plane came in very low.

"I thought we landed hard," he said. "Until I looked over and saw a hole in the side of the plane and water was coming in. And I thought, well, this is not the way it's supposed to happen."

Jaynes said he and others managed to wade through waist-deep water to the emergency exits on the sinking plane. He said the flight attendants were panicking and yelling, and that he suffered a minor head injury.