Baptism of fire for rookie New Zealand skydivers

Each of the plane's occupants, including the pilot, landed safely after the aircraft suffered an apparent mechanical failure on Wednesday.

Witnesses reported seeing a steady stream of people jumping from the bright-pink plane moments before it plunged into the waters of Lake Taupo. A police spokeswoman said all of those on board had landed without significant injuries.

Plane operator Skydive Taupo said all the passengers were overseas tourists who had been assigned an instructor for tandem skydives from up to 15,000 feet (4,500 meters).

However, a problem developed soon after the plane took off.

"The plane just made a big bang and then it stopped," said Roy Clements, chief executive officer of the plane operator Skydive Taupo. "The pilot told them to get out. He didn't have to tell them twice."

Quick thinking by crew

Clements said each of the instructors was wearing a parachute, and had been able to hastily clip in place each passenger's harness before making the leap. He said the pilot was also wearing a parachute - a standard protocol in skydiving operations - and jumped only after making sure everyone else was off the plane.

"It was nothing short of a miracle," said Clements. "I was happy to see them all walk back into the hangar," he said.

Artist Robbie Graham was standing in front of a gallery in the town of Waitahanui when he saw parachutists above the lake about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) away.

"I saw all these people coming down and I thought that was a crazy place to be coming down, that they would all end up in the lake," he said.

New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Mike Richards said it was miraculous that no one was killed. He added that an investigation into the cause of the accident was underway.

rc/gb (AFP, Reuters)