Dede Sophie

Incumbent Governor for West New Britain Province and PANGU Pati candidate Sasindran Muthuvel has been re-elected as the Regional Member. This will be his third term in Parliament. Mr. Muthuvel was declared member-elect by Provincial Returning Officer Emily Kelton at 6:25pm today. He polled 47,878 votes, surpassing the absolute majority of 46,499. In second place place was former Police Commissioner and People’s National Congress Party candidate Gari Baki with 45,118 votes. Mr. Muthuvel is the second PANGU Pati candidate to be declared in the province, after Nakanai Open member Francis Galia Maneke yesterday. Member for Talasea Freddie Reu Kumai is a Peoples Party candidate, while Kandrian Gloucester member-elect Joseph Lelang is a People’s National Congress Party candidate. NBC News / PNG Today Next :  National Alliance Party leader Patrick Pruaitch unseated

A helicopter belonging to Heli Solutions, crash landed at Kuimimanda, in the Kaikin Pausa area of the Wapenamanda District of Enga Province, Papua New Guinea  today.  The helicopter was flown by retired army colonel, Captain Charlie Andrews.  Captain Andrews, when speaking to NBC News in Mount Hagen, said that he was returning from Enopi in the jungles of the Laigaim District of Enga and East Sepik Province, after dropping off some medical supplies. He said that he had a total of 6 passengers including himself, and this included two patients and their two care takers, his load master and himself.  Captain Andrews said that they were travelling back from Enopi, when a mechanical fault struck the back propeller, and this forced him to crash land on top of a garden. He also thanked members of the Mobile Squad 11 and Military Personnel, who were able to rescue them, and transported them to Mt. Hagen for medical checks. Security personnel are still guarding the crashed chopper, while awaiti