Laotian Defense Minister, Douangchay Phichit, is seen during a visit to Moscow in this Tuesday, April 27, 2004 file photo. A Laos air force plane believed to be carrying 20 people including the country’s defense minister crashed on Saturday May 17, 2014, Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said. AP
At least 22 people including the defense minister were killed when a Lao air force plane crashed Saturday, a DPA report said quoting officials.
It said the victims included three members of the ruling Communist Party’s central committee. Three people reportedly survived the crash.
The plane crashed at about 8am in the north-eastern province of Xiangkhuang, killing Defence Minister Duangchay Phichit, who was also a deputy prime minister and member of the party’s politburo, a source close to him said.
Also killed were Public Security Minister Thongban Saengaphon, Vientiane Mayor Soukan Mahalat and party propaganda chief Chuang Sombounkhan, sources confirmed.
The group was en route to a ceremony marking the 55th anniversary of the 2nd Battalion’s victory over royalist forces.
Laos has been under communist rule since 1975.
Foreign Ministry spokesman, Sek Wannamethee said that the plane took off from the capital, Vientiane, and crashed in the northeastern province of Xiangkhoung, about 470 kilometers (292 miles) away.
He said he was informed of the crash by authorities in neighboring Laos.
In October, a Lao Airlines ATR-72 turboprop crashed during a heavy storm as it approached Pakse Airport in southern Laos, killing all 49 people on board. — with Associated Press
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