Sydney  - There were no survivors among the 13 people aboard a light plane that crashed in Papua New Guinea, officials in Canberra said Wednesday.

The Twin Otter plane went missing Tuesday after leaving Port Moresby on a three-hour flight to Kokoda with nine Australians, a Japanese national and three Papua New Guinea crew.

The Australians aboard the scheduled Airlines PNG flight were tourists intending to walk the Kokoda Track, where Australian soldiers held back the Japanese advance in World War II.

Villagers reported hearing a "loud bang" on Tuesday and at first light Wednesday a helicopter spotted wreckage in the Owen Stanley Ranges north of Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.

Liz Holliday, whose son was aboard, told ABC Radio that Peter Holliday intended to walk the Kokoda Track in the footsteps of his grandfather, who served there with the Australian forces.

"I guess it's the same for everyone, everyone who's got anyone missing, it's just totally devastating," she said. "So our heart goes out to everyone, all the families of everyone who's got someone missing." (dpa)