The moment 47 passengers and crew were rescued from a sinking airplane after it crash-landed in a lagoon in the Pacific was caught on video at the scene.
The plane can be seen half-submerged and surrounded by small vessels.
The Air Niugini flight was due to land on the Pacific island of Weno in Micronesia when it crash-landed in the sea at around 10:10 a.m. local time on Sept. 28, falling short of the runway.
The Federated States of Micronesia is located around 1,500 miles to the northeast of Papua New Guinea in the southwest Pacific.
Air Niugini said in a statement that it had been informed that “the weather was very poor with heavy rain and reduced visibility at the time of incident.”
The airline confirmed that the Boeing 737-800 aircraft landed short at Chuuk International airport runway.
“The aircraft had 35 passengers and 12 crew members onboard, all of whom were able to safely evacuate the aircraft,” said the statement.
Eight of those on board are in the hospital, four in serious condition with bone fractures and other injuries, according to a hospital spokesman.
In a statement, Air Niugini said it was sending out a doctor to assist with the treatment of “several” injured passengers. Referencing how 27 of the 35 passengers had been provided with accommodation, the statement appeared to confirm that eight were injured.
The water was waist-deep in the aircraft before rescuers arrived, passenger Bill Jaynes said in a video posted by the Pacific Daily News website.
“I thought, well, this is not like the way it’s supposed to happen,” he said.
