PAKSE LAOS, 17th October 2013 According to the Ubon Ratchathani Deputy Governor, a team of 50 divers and rescuers from the Thai navy and a charity foundation in Ubon Ratchathani has been dispatched to Champassak province of Laos to help in the search for the bodies of the Laos airplane crash victims.
The Ubon Ratchathani Deputy Governor said the move was made in a response to a request by the authorities of the Champassak province.
The Thai team, which was led by the Deputy Governor himself, met with a Lao coordinator for a briefing this morning before departing to Pakse for their mission.
Late Wednesday afternoon the plane carrying 44 passengers and five crews crashed into the Mekong River, about 3 km from Pakse airport, in bad weather. All were believed to have been killed in the crash. Five Thais were among the passengers.
Officials believe that the search might take about a day or two because the Mekong River is very deep and has strong current during the rainy season.
The five Thais confirmed on board were identified as Kanueng Chartkasemchai, 47, Niphon Chaichanakuldee, 27, Pakawat Athinrattanachai, 47, Wikij Busarathanusorn, 38, and Banyong Apanan, 29.
The Thai consular-general at Savannakhet said the bodies of only five of the 44 passengers in the plane had been recovered. Therefore, it might not be possible for the bodies of the five Thais to be sent back to Thailand today.
