Four crew members, including two Australian pilots, were the only survivors in the crash of an Airlines PNG plane in Papua New Guinea on Thursday night.

The pilot and co-pilot were in serious condition due to burns when locals from a nearby village pulled them out from the wreckage of the Dash 8 in a dense forest near the Gogol River in Madang province, according to the Herald Sun citing reports from local authorities. They were being treated at the village near the crash site.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have yet to be informed by PNG authorities if there are Australians among the 28 passengers who died in the crash. Most of the passengers were going to visit students at the Divine Word University in Madang.

The plane took off from Laes Nadzab airport and was heading to the resort town of Madang when it crashed amid bad weather. The pilots sent out a distress call before the crash.

Rescuers were retrieving bodies from the wreckage on Thursday.

Four Black Hawk helicopters from Australia are taking part in retrieving bodies after PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill requested for Australian assistance. The helicopters were in Port Moresby as part of a joint military exercise.

The crash was the second instance involving an Airlines PNG plane. In August 2009, a Twin Otter of the airline crash while approaching an airstrip in Kokoda killing 13 passengers and crew, including nine Australians.