17 killed in Polynesia plane crash

At least 17 people were killed when a small plane plunged into the sea moments after taking off from the French Polynesian resort island of Moorea in the Pacific.

Two Australian tourists, two European Union officials and a group of Polynesian environmental and tourism officials were among the 20 people aboard the Twin Otter DHC6 turboprop when it crashed yesterday, French officials said. The cause of the crash was unclear.

Rescue workers, helped by French navy ships and local fishing boats, recovered the bodies of 16 passengers and the pilot, the No. 2 French official in the territory, Jacques Witkowski, said on RTL radio.

“There is little hope of finding survivors at this hour,” he added, because the plane sank immediately in deep waters about one nautical mile beyond the runway, past the coral reefs. He called it the worst-ever plane accident on French Polynesia.

The plane went down within a minute after take-off. The Air Moorea flight was heading for Tahiti, 11 miles away for what would have been just a seven-minute journey.

The Twin Otter plane was returned to service after an upgrade in November 2006, and had two new engines, Witkowski said.