Families receive bodies of loved ones perished in Sarawagat plane crash

While the country was set to welcome the long Easter weekend on Thursday, the 17th of April, broken-hearted families of three of the five people who perished in the P2-Sam plane that crashed in the Sarawagat Range of Morobe on the eve of Christmas last year, heartily grieved upon the sight of the bodies of their loved ones being brought from the funeral home into Lae to be handed over to them.

Escorted by police in three different ambulances and a long convoy of vehicles behind, the bodies of the three were transported from the funeral home and brought to Lae's Sir Ignatius Kilage indoor stadium and given a respectable state funeral.

They were then handed over to reunite with their immediate families after the funeral service, in the presence of the Assistant Commissioner of Police for Northern Command Peter Guinness representing his office and the office of the Deputy Prime Minister and member for Lae John Rosso, the Minister for housing and member for Tewai Siassi district where the plane has crashed, Dr Kobby Bomareo and the Morobe Governor Luther Wenge.

Speaking on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister and member for Lae John Rosso and for his office, the Assistant Commissioner of police for Northern Command, Peter Guinness explained, that the fourth body of the police officer who also died while on duty, is still in Port Moresby to be given a RPNGC Disciplinary Force funeral, before being flown to Lae to be laid to rest in the state cemetery next to the Huon Gulf hotel.

ACP Guinness also thanked the Morobe Provincial Administration and the Housing Minister and member for Tewai Siassi and his DDA, for their continued support in the rescue operations since day one of the crash, and also thanked the immediate families of the crash victims for their patience.

The ACP-Northern Command went on to state, that investigations into causes of why the plane crashed are still continuing and once completed, all reports will be presented to the Coroner to determine the actual cause of why the plane crashed.

“The Air Crash Investigators are investigating separately, with the Police Hierarchy also doing an independent investigation."