A Lao Airlines passenger plane crashed and killed 49 people from 11 different countries as it was preparing to land. Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee said the flight from the Lao capital of Vientiane to Pakse in southern Laos crashed at about 4 p.m. Lao time, about 7-8 kilometers (4-5 miles) short of the international airport at Pakse. The airline is investigating the possibility that the plane crash was caused by "wind shear," a sudden change in wind speed or direction over a short distance, that has been a factor in many air disasters, an airline official said. The ATR 72 propeller plane was preparing to land when a gust of wind appeared to push it away from the airport, and it crashed on or near an island in the Mekong River, reported KPL, the national news agency.
"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. "We haven't found the plane yet. It is underwater. We're trying to use divers to locate it." He ruled out finding survivors. "There is no hope. The plane appears to have crashed very hard before entering the water." He went on, "We have asked villagers and people who live along the river to look for bodies and alert authorities when they see anything."
A passenger manifest faxed by the airline listed 44 people: 17 Lao, seven French, five Australians, five Thais, three Koreans, two Vietnamese and one person each from Canada, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and the United States. Korean, French and Thai officials confirmed the totals for their nationalities. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said six Australians were on board. Relatives released a photo of Gavin and Phoumalaysy Rhodes and their two young children, one of whom the airline identified as Lao. The government said the other two Australians were an aid worker based in Laos and his father. Cambodian authorities said one of the plane's pilots was a 56-year-old Cambodian with more than 30 years' flying experience.
The country of Laos is in its third day of seeing heavy rain and winds from what once was Typhoon Nari. Nari made landfall Monday night in central Vietnam. Ahead of the storm, over 100,000 people were evacuated, and Vietnam Airlines canceled many flights. After making landfall, Nari quickly weakened to a cyclone. However, effects from the system continued to linger throughout Laos, northern Cambodia and eastern Thailand. Heavy rain and winds moved inland with the storm, threatening flooding, damaging winds and mudslides.
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