Plane with 18 aboard crashes in Australia

A plane carrying 18 passengers crashed in bad weather in Australia’s remote north, probably killing all on board, rescue authorities said today.

The twin propellor Fairchild Metroliner had been due to arrive at Lockhart River, an Aboriginal community of 350 people in Queensland state, about midday local time (3am Irish time), Australian Search and Rescue spokeswoman Tracey Jiggins said.

Its wreck, burning in dense tropical forest, was spotted from a search aircraft seven miles northwest of the Lockhart River air strip late on Saturday, Jiggins said.

Rescuers had yet to reach the site, she said.

“It’s impossible to say at this stage if there have been any survivors. It appears unlikely though,” Jiggins said.

Two pilots and 16 passengers were aboard, she said.

The aircraft was en route from Bamaga, a community of 2,000 near the tip of the Cape York Peninsula, about 170 miles from Lockhart River, she said.

Three planes and two helicopters joined the search in the sparsely populated region, state police said.