The Fiji Times has just published a story recalling Fiji’s first major air tragedy 45 years ago an event in which a young married couple from Gisborne were killed. On July 15, 1979, the people of Fiji were shocked by the news of a plane crash.
Unaisi Ratubalavu
3 March, 2021, 12:00 am
Another view of the wreckage with Naruwai villagers who had been helping with the search and retrieval operation.
Picture: FILE
A Fiji Air Islander plane crashed near Bua and a story published in The Fiji Times on July 16, 1979 stated nine lives were lost in the tragedy.
The bodies of the nine Fiji Air crash victims were recovered on July 15 from the jungle and the Bua hillside where their plane plunged to destruction.
Minister for Civil Aviation then, Tomasi Vakatora, was going to make a statement about the incident in the House of Representatives that week.
It was reported that a senior New Zealand air accident investigator, John Leech, 54, had arrived and was expected to fly to Bua to look at the wreckage.