Boats rescue plane victims

Sydney – A flotilla of small boats rescued all 47 passengers and crew from an Air Niugini flight that crashed into the sea short of the runway at an airport in the tiny South Pacific nation of Micronesia yesterday, the airport’s manager said.

“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, said.

“People were rescued by boats – 36 passengers and 11 crew were all rescued, only the plane is sinking right now,” he said.