Plane crashes in Papua New Guinea

A plane carrying 32 people crashed in the wilds of Papua New Guinea today with an unknown number of casualties, reports say.

The Airlines PNG Dash 8 aircraft crashed while flying from Lae to Madang on the South Pacific island nation’s north coast, Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.

The country’s Accident Investigation Commission spokesman, said there were 32 people on board when the twin-propellor plane crashed 12 miles south of Madang.

“There were reports of fire and there have been some fatalities,” he said.

He said there were survivors but it was not clear how many. ABC later reported unconfirmed reports of four survivors.

Police and ambulances have reached the crash site.