PACIFIC BRIEFS
7 die in N. Caledonia helicopter crash
NOUMÉA, New Caledonia – Seven people, including four top executives from the Société Minière du Sud Pacifique nickel mining company, died in a helicopter crash Tuesday. The accident occurred in a mountainous region of the French territory’s main island.
The chopper was reported to have run into foggy conditions in the Canal area before it crashed. Witnesses in nearby villages said they heard the aircraft make several passes and noticed what they called a “strange noise” just before it crashed on its way to a new nickel mine site.
The helicopter, which had just passed air worthiness tests, carried four top SMSP executives, including its Kanak Chairman, Raphael Pidjot, as well as its general, financial and technical managers.
Two Canadians, from the Falconbridge nickel company also are among the victims.
All occupants of the helicopter, including the pilot, died instantly, a doctor who went to the site said.
Palau unemployment drop 2.3 percent
KOROR, Palau – Palau’s unemployment rate has declined from 7.0 percent in 1995 to 2.3 percent now, the government Office of Planning and Statistics reported.
The 2.3 percent unemployment rate translates to 224 unemployed persons in the western Pacific nation of approximately 18,000.
The Palau Census 2000 report states that 9,607 Palauans, 16 years of age or over, now are in the labor force. Over two-thirds work in the private sector.
Tensions mount in Irian Jaya
JAYAPURA, Indonesia – Separatist groups in Irian Jaya have called on local political leaders to make a declaration of independence during special celebrations planned for Friday, December 1.
The celebrations will mark the anniversary of a similar declaration made almost 40 years ago as the former colonial power, The Netherlands, relinquished control and before Indonesian troops moved in.
The Indonesian government has warned that any independence announcements will be considered acts of treason. It has dispatched extra troops to the remote province that shares the island of New Guinea with independent Papua New Guinea.
A. Samoa’s Faleomavaega hospitalized
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa – U.S. Representative Eni Faleomavaega is recovering at LBJ Medical Center following minor surgery which followed his re-election to Congress in a run-off polling November 21.
He said, “The surgery was minor and I’m doing well.”
The specific cause for his surgery and hospitalization was not announced.
He will return to Washington D.C. as soon as he is released from the hospital, Faleomavaega said.
Melanesia warned of cyclone risk
AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Melanesian countries face a higher risk of cyclones this season, scientists at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research have warned.
They said countries from Papua New Guinea in the north and New Caledonia to the south – including the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu – will probably be harder hit than anywhere else in the Pacific.
Institute spokesperson Dr. Jim Renwich said the prediction is based on current weather conditions affecting the tropical Pacific region. (Pacific Islands Report)
