Two pilots, an Australian and a New Zealander, were among the four people aboard an Airlines Papua New Guinea Dash 8 turboprop that survived a crash 20 kilometres short of Madang airport, Australian officials said Friday.
The plane, which was on a scheduled flight from Lae to Madang on Papua New Guinea's northern coast, went down Thursday near the estuary of the Gogol River killing 28 passengers, dpa reported.
A Chinese national and a cabin crew member were the other survivors, none of whom was seriously injured.
"The Australian High Commission in Port Moresby has been liaising with Airlines PNG and local authorities to determine if any Australians were amongst those killed on an Airlines PNG flight that crashed outside of Madang, Papua New Guinea," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.