Light plane crashes on New Zealand road crew pulled alive from wreckage, witness says

A light airplane with two people on board crash-landed on a main highway and burst into flames in central North Island Tuesday afternoon, police said. The two were pulled alive from the wreckage, a witness said.

Local residents pulled the victims from the burning wreckage and cooled them off in a nearby lake, witness Alex Scott said.

"The people inside the plane ... the lake's only about 10 meters (yards) from the crash, they were bathed there for their burns by locals until the ambulance ... arrived, which was quite lucky for them," he told National Radio.

The plane "looks like it hit the road, veered off to the left and struck a resident's property," he added.

There was no word of any casualties on the ground.

Authorities were investigating what caused the plane to crash on the road near the town of Taupo, said Senior Sergeant Tony Jerassin. He said it appeared to have hit some wires near the road, reports the AP.

P.T.