Family tell me the engine stopped "with a thud", news reports an engine fire. Sounds like an engine catastrophic failure and seizure. A helicopter was departing Lae to pick up gold at Eadie Creek and diverted to uplift Richard. That connected with an executive jet which brought Richard to Brisbane.
Don't know where the accident happened but after the engine quit he attempted an approach to a mission strip above 6000 AGL and didn't quite make it.