Papua New Guinea 'WWII airman' found to be mossy branches - Update

The suspected remains of a WWII airman discovered in a jungle region of Papua New Guinea have turned out to be the moss-covered branches of a tree.

Hikers on the country's Kokoda Trail found what appeared to be the remains of a parachutist tangled in wires and dangling in a tree two weeks ago.



The Australian military sent a team to investigate the "body" only to discover it was a branch tangled in vines.

An Australian Defence Force (ADF) statement said that although the location of the find was below a flight path commonly used by Allied aircraft during WWII sorties, the "remains" were in fact a moss-covered branch.