Passengers survive plane accident

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan: A Cessna airplane crashed into a swamp near Supadio airport here, following an emergency landing due to engine problems.

The pilot and all four passengers aboard the five-seater aircraft survived but suffered minor injuries in the accident, the commander of the nearby air base Col. Harsono said.

Harsono said the plane was chartered by a Catholic mission to carry its members from Sintang regency. The pilot, he added, had realized the aircraft was experiencing engine trouble just prior to landing that afternoon.

The aircraft hit a tree before crashing into the swamp, some two kilometers away from the airport. -- JP