Authorities have recovered the body of a passenger who was unaccounted for following the crash of a jetliner last week in the Federated States of Micronesia, the plane's operator said late Monday.

Air Niugini said in a statement that the male passenger was discovered by divers as they conducted a further search of the crash site in a lagoon off the island of Chuuk.

The Papua New Guinea national carrier had initially said that all 35 passengers and 12 crew had survived and were "safe" after the Boeing 737-800 landed short of the runway at Chuuk International Airport on Friday.

(U.S. Navy/Getty/Kyodo)

However, on Saturday the airline backtracked and said one passenger was unaccounted for.

Tahawar Durrani, chief executive of Air Niugini, said the airline's outreach team is in touch with the man's family and is making arrangements to repatriate the body.

Although local media reported the man was Indonesian, Air Niugini would not comment on the passenger's nationality.

Four passengers remain hospitalized in a stable condition in Chuuk but are to be transported to Guam for further treatment, according to the airline.

Flight PX73 took off Friday from Pohnpei, another island in the Federated States of Micronesia, and was stopping over in Chuuk before flying on to Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby located about 1,940 kilometers away.

While the cause of the accident remains unclear, Air Niugini previously said the weather was "very poor with heavy rain and reduced visibility at the time of the incident."