A plane crash in the highlands of Papua New Guinea has resulted in the deaths of two Mission Aviation Fellowship workers.

The MAF Twin Otter aircraft crashed into the circuit area of Wobegon airstrip, near Tabubil, Tuesday afternoon.

The flight crew, Captain Chris Hansen, of Rotorua, and Captain Richard West, of
Auckland, sustained fatal injuries.

The cabin attendant and ten passengers were slightly injured and most walked to the nearby village of Bimin.

A helicopter and various MAF aircraft were dispatched to the accident site and a clinic was set up at Agali with doctors flown in by MAF.

The cabin attendant and one passenger were later flown to Tabubil Hospital for
observation.

MAF is a Christian mission which regularly flies into over 300 of the remotest airstrips of PNG, providing a lifeline for the isolated churches and communities.

Efforts will be made to continue to provide some service in the Tabubil region.