SYDNEY, July 17 (Xinhua) -- An emergency search is underway for a light aircraft that failed to arrive at its destination in eastern Australia.
Emergency services were notified on Tuesday that the plane with one person on board had not arrived as scheduled at a regional airport in the coastal town of Moruya, 250 km southwest of Sydney in Australia's state of New South Wales (NSW).
A multi-agency search for the missing aircraft commenced on Wednesday and resumed on Thursday morning, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on Thursday.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said in a statement that the plane had departed from Wangaratta, 340 km west of Moruya in the state of Victoria, and that its last known position was in NSW's Snowy Mountains near the town of Khancoban, approximately halfway along its route.
It said that a jet and helicopters were conducting a search from the air, but that weather conditions were challenging with low clouds and restricted visibility.
NSW Police, the State Emergency Service, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and personnel from a nearby hydroelectric plant are conducting a ground search.
ABC reported that police believe the plane may have crashed about 500 meters from a hiking trail in the area.
Snow showers and temperatures as low as one degree Celsius were forecast for Khancoban on Thursday. ■
