Crash in Laos kills top government officials

A plane carrying several senior Laotian government officials crashed Saturday morning, killing at least three people, a Laotian diplomat said Saturday. "Killed in the crash were the Deputy Prime Minister Douangchay Phichit, and the governor of Vientiane province," said the diplomat, who spoke on condition he not be identified, The Newyork Times reported. "Mr. Douangchay was also defense minister and a member of the Politburo, the highest decision-making body of the ruling Communist party," he added. The plane was traveling from the capital, Vientiane, to the mountainous northeastern province of Xiangkhouang, where the officials were due to attend an official ceremony. State television in Laos showed footage of rescue workers recovering debris from the aircraft, which appeared to have crashed in a jungle-covered area. A news presenter said the crash occurred at around 7 a.m. "The cause of the plane crash is still unknown," the presenter said, adding that the crash occurred at Baan Nadi, West of the Xiangkhouang Airport and not far from a major archeological site of prehistoric carved stone vessels, the Plain of Jars. Thai media reports said the plane was a Lao Air Force Antonov AN-74-300. A Lao Facebook page showed images of thick black smoke rising up next to what appeared to be an airport runway. The images could not be independently confirmed. The crash was the second in Laos in the last year. Last October 49 people were killed when a Lao Airlines flight crashed in the south of the country. The Laotian government did not appear to issue any statements early Saturday but the Foreign Ministry in neighboring Thailand said it "received reports" about the crash. "There were about 20 passengers on board of which most were of high stature," said Sek Wannamethee, a spokesman for the Thai Foreign Ministry.