World Scene: Australia

Snakes on plane go missing

A Qantas airliner was grounded after four snakes went missing from the cargo hold on a passenger flight from Alice Springs to Melbourne, officials said yesterday.

Twelve baby pythons were packed on the Boeing 737-800 in the outback town on Tuesday, but when it arrived in Melbourne, there were only eight, Qantas said in a statement. Corporate manager David Epstein told public radio the snakes had been packaged in a tied calico bag inside a Styrofoam box with air holes punched in it. "The only conclusion we could draw was four of them had broken free of the packaging," Epstein said.

Plane lands on beach, flips over

Beachgoers in Australia had a lucky escape yesterday when a small plane crash-landed in the sand then flipped over in the sea. The two pilots also survived the accident.

Phil Walters and his co-pilot were flying the single-propeller Piper Cub towing an advertising banner above the tourist town of Caloundra, Queensland, state when the engine stalled.

Walters told Network Ten television that he spotted a patch of empty sand on Shelley beach and began sliding toward it. Witnesses said the plane hit the sand, flipped and came down in the shallows.

(China Daily 04/17/2009 page10)