Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has confirmed the nine Australians on board a plane which crashed in Papua New Guinea have been killed.

The Australians were among 13 people on board the light plane which went down near the Kokoda Track yesterday.

Speaking in Parliament, Mr Rudd also confirmed that two of those killed were a father and daughter.

"There is a horrible tragedy involved when families send off their loved ones for what they expect to be an experience of a lifetime only for it to turn into a tragedy," he said.

All eight families of the people killed have been informed of their deaths by Australian officials.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull also expressed his sympathy for the families of those who died.

He reflected on the loss of his own father in a plane crash during bad weather in mountainous country.

"The Opposition shares with the Prime Minister the very great sadness from this accident," he said.

Mr Turnbull says he understands the anguish of those families who have lost love ones.

Four investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) will leave Australia this afternoon to assist local authorities.

Wreckage found

A rescue helicopter found the wreckage of the Airlines PNG Twin Otter in rough terrain in the shadow of the Owen Stanley Range earlier this morning.

Earlier, the head of Papua New Guinea's Civil Aviation Authority, Joseph Kintau, said there had been no sign of activity at the crash site.

"At this point in time there's no activity at the crash site, no movements," he said.

"We will be fearing for the worst at this point in time. We'll have to get the report from the team that's been dispatched."

Mr Kintau said rescuers would try to reach the wreckage as soon as possible.

The Australians were eight tourists from Victoria and Queensland and a tour guide working for Melbourne-based tour operator No Roads Expeditions. All were on their way to walk the Kokoda Track.

This morning Foreign Minister Stephen Smith confirmed that wreckage had been located north of the village of Isurava at an altitude of about 5,500 feet (1,700 metres).

"Consular officers have contacted all of the families of the nine Australians on the flight and in the last hour have advised them that a crash site has been located," he said.

He said PNG police officers had been dropped off near the site and were attempting to reach it on foot.

An Australian Defence Force Sea King helicopter with more PNG police and an Australian doctor were also due at the crash site.

Victims

One of the Australian victims has been named as Bendigo man Peter Holliday.

His mother Liz Holliday told ABC Radio that her son planned to walk the Kokoda Track with his cousin, in honour of his grandfather who served in World War II.

Authorities believe at least three of the Australian victims were from Gippsland in Victoria.

Moe resident Euan Comrie, Hazlewood North farmer Max Cranwell, and his daughter Leanne were flying from Port Moresby to the start of the Kokoda Trail.

Mr Comrie was the chairman of the Moartz Theatre and has been described as a talented actor and theatre director.

Mr Cranwell was a dairy farmer and life member of the Hazelwood North CFA brigade.

The plane was also carrying two people from Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

They were named as Keith Gracie and June Canavan, a sports medicine doctor from Queensland's Sunshine Coast who was setting out to walk the Kokoda Track to raise money for a school in Tanzania.

Another one of the victims, Matthew Leonard, 28, worked as a fireman in Victoria.

Mr Leonard was the son of Western Australian Police Inspector Bill Leonard.

The other people on board included three from Papua New Guinea and a Japanese national.

No Road Expeditions - the company the Australians were due to walk the Kokoda Track with - says it is working to support the family and friends of those on board the plane.

"In conjunction with the Department of Foreign Affairs, we are doing everything we can to support the families of those Australians who were on board the flight, and the family of our expedition guide," managing director Peter Miller said in a statement.

"This is an incredibly difficult time for those affected by this situation and for us. Our guides are like an extended family, and our groups become friends as they travel together, so this has deeply affected us and our travelling community."