All 13 people aboard New Zealand skydiving plane survive after many parachute out before crash

A police boat circles a crashed plane in Lake Taupo in New Zealand Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015. All 13 people aboard a New Zealand skydiving plane that suffered an apparent engine failure managed to leap out in parachutes moments before the plane plunged into a lake, according to authorities.(AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Alan Gibson) AUSTRALIA OUT, NEW ZEALAND OUT (The Associated Press)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Police say all 13 people aboard a New Zealand skydiving plane managed to survive after the plane got into trouble and then crashed into a lake.

Witnesses told local media Wednesday that a number of people in parachutes leaped from the plane soon after it appeared to stall above Lake Taupo on the North Island. The plane then plunged into the lake.

Police spokeswoman Kim Perks said some of the passengers were being checked by medical staff but she didn't believe any suffered major injuries.

She said the pilot was able to swim to shore. She said she wasn't sure whether the pilot had gone down with the plane.

Lake Taupo is popular among holidaymakers and tourists at this time of year, during the Southern Hemisphere summer.