44 dead as Laos plane 'crashes into river'
All 44 people aboard a domestic flight in Laos were killed when the plane crashed in the south of the country, officials in neighbouring Thailand say.
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The Lao Airlines plane came down in the Mekong River.
The aircraft crashed in bad weather just before it was due to land at Pakse airport, an airline official quoted by the Bangkok Post said.
The plane was on a flight from the Lao capital Vientiane when it crashed at about 16:00 local time (09:00 GMT).
Thai foreign ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee said there were 39 passengers and five crew aboard the plane, citing information from the Thai Embassy in Vientiane.
The aircraft came down about 8km (5 miles) from Pakse airport, he said.
Thai TV pictures show a plane half-submerged in the river, AFP news agency reports.
The crashed plane was an ATR-72 belonging to the state-owned airline, the agency said.
Source: BBC
