49 dead in passenger plane crash in Laos

Officials ruled out finding any survivors.

Backpacks, two broken aircraft propellers and passports were among the debris scattered on the riverbank where the Lao Airlines turboprop plane left deep skid marks in the ground before disappearing into the water on Wednesday.

“We have found nine bodies so far. At this point we don’t know their nationalities,” said Yakao Lopangkao, director-general of Lao’s Department of Civil Aviation, who was at the crash site in Pakse in southern Laos on Thursday. “We haven’t found the plane yet. It is underwater. We’re trying to use divers to locate it.”

He said: “There is no hope (of finding survivors). The plane appears to have crashed very hard before entering the water.”

Some of the bodies were found by fishermen floating downstream as far as 12 miles (20 kms) from the crash site, he said.

“We have asked villagers and people who live along the river to look for bodies and alert authorities when they see anything,” he said.

Fleets of small boats and inflatable rafts plied the muddy, vast waterway as part of the search, with men in life vests peering into the water. After storms on Wednesday, the search took place under sunny blue skies.

Thailand, which borders Laos, sent 30 scuba divers to help in the search for bodies.

State-run Lao Airlines released an updated list of the 44 passengers’ nationalities on Thursday. It said the flight included 16 Lao nationals, seven French, six Australians, five Thais, three Koreans, two Vietnamese and one person each from Canada, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and the United States.

The area is off the main tourist circuit in Laos but known for its remote Buddhist temples, nature treks and waterfalls.

Cambodian authorities said one of the plane’s pilots was a 56-year-old Cambodian with more than 30 years’ flying experience.