Officials say a plane carrying 13 people has disappeared on its way to a tourist site in Papua New Guinea.
Allen Tyson, a spokesman for Airlines PNG in Papua New Guinea, says the twin-engine plane left the capital of Port Moresby on Tuesday morning en route to the country's Kokoda Track, a mountainous 100-km trail. Mr. Tyson says the plane's crew radioed air traffic controllers as it was approaching the airstrip but the aircraft never landed. A search and rescue mission is under way. Mr. Tyson says the plane has an emergency locator beacon but it is not transmitting.
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says he fears Australians may have been on board because of the Kokoda Track's popularity among Australian tourists.
