A tandem skydiving trip could have ended in tragedy had 13 people not parachuted out of their stricken plane before it nosedived into a New Zealand lake.
All on board the plane, including the pilot, managed to jump out of the plane and land safely onshore.
Emergency services rushed to Lake Taupo in the North Island to find there were no fatalities or major injuries.
Eye witnesses who saw Wednesday's mid-air drama unfold said the morning began like most days during the town's busy summer season.
"I saw just the usual skydiving plane come across," one woman told radio station Newstalk ZB.
"Then I heard a pop, like a 'putt' - it just stopped."
She said the plane appeared to keep travelling for 100 metres or so before half a dozen parachutists jumped out.
Police confirmed the trained crew of six jumped out of the aircraft in tandem with six passengers, and the pilot also parachuted out.
The plane reportedly kept moving in a straight line before it made a semi circle away from a headland and nosedived into the water, said the woman.
The aircraft encountered an engine problem shortly after take-off, its operators Skydive Taupo said in a brief statement.
The plane's wreckage will stay on the lake bed until after crash investigators and police divers have inspected and photographed it.
Skydiving is a popular tourist activity in Lake Taupo as it offers wide-ranging views over New Zealand's largest lake and its surrounding mountains and volcanoes.
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