<p>The wreckage of a helicopter missing in rugged Papua New Guinea was found today and its three crew -- two Australians and a New Zealander -- declared dead at the scene, the aircraft's charter company said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Singapore-based Hevilift said the debris, which "indicates a crash landing", was found by ground teams after the Bell 206's tail-boom was spotted from the air early this morning."Unfortunately our worst fears were realised this morning," said Hevilift's group managing director Paul Booij of the "harrowing" find.<br /><br />"We are devastated that this has happened. Every one of us had hoped to find them alive and now we have to deal with the reality."<br /><br />The search had narrowed significantly after a villager found plastic fragments from the helicopter in the thick Purari River jungle near Bawata village yesterday, and the wreckage was discovered upstream.<br /><br />The helicopter had been missing since last Friday when it issued a mayday call shortly after taking off from an InterOil drill rig in poor conditions in the mountainous Southern Highlands.<br /><br />Booij said Hevilift -- which caters to mining and energy firms -- would conduct a "thorough investigation of what went wrong and why it went wrong, and will also be co-operating fully with all authorities in their investigations".<br /><br />"Until those investigations are complete, we will not be entering into any speculation," he said.<br /><br />Aviation accidents are common in Papua New Guinea, where rugged terrain and a lack of internal connecting roads make air travel crucial for its six million citizens and the growing numbers of oil, gas and mining workers.</p>
<p>The wreckage of a helicopter missing in rugged Papua New Guinea was found today and its three crew -- two Australians and a New Zealander -- declared dead at the scene, the aircraft's charter company said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Singapore-based Hevilift said the debris, which "indicates a crash landing", was found by ground teams after the Bell 206's tail-boom was spotted from the air early this morning."Unfortunately our worst fears were realised this morning," said Hevilift's group managing director Paul Booij of the "harrowing" find.<br /><br />"We are devastated that this has happened. Every one of us had hoped to find them alive and now we have to deal with the reality."<br /><br />The search had narrowed significantly after a villager found plastic fragments from the helicopter in the thick Purari River jungle near Bawata village yesterday, and the wreckage was discovered upstream.<br /><br />The helicopter had been missing since last Friday when it issued a mayday call shortly after taking off from an InterOil drill rig in poor conditions in the mountainous Southern Highlands.<br /><br />Booij said Hevilift -- which caters to mining and energy firms -- would conduct a "thorough investigation of what went wrong and why it went wrong, and will also be co-operating fully with all authorities in their investigations".<br /><br />"Until those investigations are complete, we will not be entering into any speculation," he said.<br /><br />Aviation accidents are common in Papua New Guinea, where rugged terrain and a lack of internal connecting roads make air travel crucial for its six million citizens and the growing numbers of oil, gas and mining workers.</p>