Suspected remains of WWII airman found dangling from tree in PNG

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

SYDNEY (AFP) — Australia's military was Friday making plans to examine the suspected remains of a World War II airman found dangling from a canopy of trees in a Papua New Guinea jungle last week, a spokesman told AFP.

Hikers on the Kokoda Trail, where a bitter World War II battle was fought between Australian and Japanese forces, discovered the moss-covered body last week, tangled in parachute lines and hanging from trees in the dense jungle.

"I couldn't make it out at first. It wasn't until the wind blew that you could really see it is in a harness," said guide David Collins, who was leading a group of Australian hikers.

"There are goggles and it appears to be caught up in cables, so presumably it is an airman," he said.

An Australian Defence Force...