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One Confirmed Dead In Air Taxi Vanuatu Plane Crash
Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific Senior Journalist
A man has died from injuries sustained in an Air Taxi Vanuatu plane when it crashed in Montmartre plantation near the capital Port Vila on Monday.
A spokesperson from Vanuatu Tourism confirmed to RNZ Pacific that he was one of the five people aboard.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the male passenger who was hospitalised on Monday, died due to injuries he has sustained on Tuesday morning.
The CAA were unable to comment further as an investigation is underway and are expected to provide a report in the coming days.
This is Air Taxi's second plane crash this year following its first in Sola, Vanualava Island, where the Finance Minister John Salong was a passenger on board the aircraft.
Another incident occured in January 2023, but all five passengers walked away unharmed.
An eyewitness told the Vanuatu Daily Post that the aircraft attempted to land on the Montmartre football field initially, but changed direction because the field was crowded with students for their sports day, and landed in the plantation.
"I was at home when the students yelled about the plane crash, and we could smell the aftermath of the crash. This was around 3:30 pm," the eyewitness was quoted saying.
Director of Tourism, Paul Pio, said locals were onboard the plane.
"We are very saddened by what is a tragic event that happened with the crash. From the information that we recieved there is no tourists or international visitors on that flight."
Air Taxi Vanuatu is a popular tourist attraction offering aereial tours of coral reefs, live volcanoes and waterfalls.
It was also a 'Trip Advisor Travellers Choice Awards Winner' for 2024.
RNZ Pacific requested an interview with Air Taxi Vanuatu but found it has temporarily suspended its service.
"It is a very tragic moment for us not only from a tourist perspective but for the entire nation which relies heaviy on aviation connectivity," Pio said.
"In our current situation we unfortunately have very limited air capacity for domestic services. We rely heavily on those carrriers to be able to transport visitors and local public to travel around Vanuatu," he said.
In May, the country's main airline for international travel Air Vanuatu abruptly shut down and suspended its flights due to sudden liquidation.
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