Air Niugini Crash Photos, Videos: Passengers Safe As Aircraft Sinks In Lagoon

An Air Niugini plane crashed into the water early Friday in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and sunk with 35 passengers and 12 crew onboard. According to authorities, all those on board the plane are safe.

The Boeing 737-800 submerged in the lagoon after overshooting the runway at Chuuk International Airport. Local fishers rushed to the scene to assist the Flight 73, which flies between Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia and Port Moresby, stopping in Chuuk State.

"The plane crashed in the lagoon, about 160 yards away from the runway," Chuuk airport manager Jimmy Emilio told the BBC. "Right now we don't really know what happened. Investigations will start earliest tomorrow, but [for now], operations are starting again as usual in the airport."

Emilio said some of the passengers were believed to have suffered "minor injuries" and were taken to the hospital along with other passengers and crew for checks.

Images and videos circulating online showing the Air Niugini plane sitting in shallow water just off the coast. Air Niugini is Papua New Guinea's (PNG) national airline.

The cause of the crash remains unclear, but investigations are due to begin soon, authorities said. PNG's Accident Investigation Commission was preparing to send a team to the accident site, Australia's ABC News reported.

The aircraft which was used by the airline is believed to be a 13-year-old plane that was previously operated by Jet Airways and Air India Express. It was involved in a collision at PNG's capital city of Port Moresby in May when a cargo plane clipped its wing while turning at the Jacksons international airport.

The airline issued a statement Friday saying it “can confirm that all on board were able to safely evacuate the aircraft. The airline is making all efforts to ensure the safety and immediate needs of our passengers and crew.”

Air Niugini had only recently begun flying that route with the larger Boeing planes, Matthew Colson, a Baptist missionary on the island, said.

“United is mostly the only airline that comes out here, and it’s been that way for years … There are flights every day but this has never happened before. Mainly because this route is considered one of United’s hardest routes for the 737, so they … send their best pilots out here for the island hopper,” he added.

One of the passengers, Bill Jaynes -- a journalist based in Pohnpei -- said about the incident: “It was surreal... I thought we [just] landed hard until I looked over and saw a hole in the side of the plane and water was coming in, and thought, "This is not the way it’s supposed to happen.’”