Marines Out Fishing Rush to Rescue Survivors of a Plane Crash

PASSENGERS on board a plane which crashed into a lagoon in Micronesia today have praised the “awesome” response by the heroic fisherman who saved them.



Locals in boats rushed to rescue the dozens of people on the Boeing 737 when it plunged into waters near Chuuk International Airport at 9.30am local time this morning.



Officials confirmed the aircraft - which was making a scheduled stop en route to Papa New Guinea - overshot the runway and crashed into the water off the tiny island of Weno.



Dramatic pictures from the scene showed boats surrounding the submerged aircraft as a rescue mission got underway.



All 47 passengers and crew survived the crash while seven people were taken to a hospital, according to officials, including one described as being in critical but stable condition.



Passenger Bill Jaynes said the Air Niugini plane came in very low as it was attempting to land but heaped praise on the locals who led the rescue effort.



He said: "I was really impressed with the locals who immediately started coming out in boats.



"One would think that they might be afraid to approach a plane that's just crashed.



“They were awesome and I was really impressed with their whole response.”



Describing the crash, he said: I thought we landed hard. Until I looked over and saw a hole in the side of the plane and water was coming in.



“And I thought, well, this is not the way it's supposed to happen."



Jaynes said the flight attendants were panicking and yelling, and that he suffered a minor head injury.



He said he called his wife, who started crying.



The sequence of events remains unclear. The airline said the plane landed short of the runway.