Rescuers in fishing boats pulled bodies from the muddy Mekong River on Thursday as officials in Laos ruled out finding survivors from a plane that crashed in stormy weather, killing 49 people, including one Canadian.
Backpacks, an airplane propeller and passports were among the debris scattered on the riverbank where the Lao Airlines turboprop plane apparently hit hard before skidding into the water and sinking Wednesday.Cambodia's civil aviation office said the pilot was one of its nationals and had "many years" of flying experience.
The QV301 flight set off from Vientiane on time at 2.45pm (0745 GMT) and was supposed to arrive in Pakse just over an hour later.
French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR said the twin-engine turboprop aircraft was new and had been delivered in March.
Founded in 1976, Lao Airlines serves domestic airports and destinations in China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Impoverished Laos, a one-party communist state, has had 29 fatal air accidents since the 1950s, according to the Aviation Safety Network, whose data showed that the country's safety record had improved dramatically in the last decade.
The last fatal air accident was in October 2000 when eight people died after a plane operated by the airline -- then called Lao Aviation -- crashed in remote mountains in the northeast of the country.
“So far eight bodies have been found. We don’t yet know their nationalities,” said Yakao Lopangkao, director general of the country’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.”
Some bodies were found as far as 20 kilometres from the crash site, he said.
“We have asked villagers and people who live along the river to look for bodies and alert authorities when they see anything,” he said.
Fleets of small fishing boats and inflatable rafts plied the muddy, vast waterway as part of the search with men in life vests peering into the water. After storms Wednesday, the search took place under sunny blue skies.
Thailand, which borders Laos, was helping with the search. It sent 30 scuba divers to assist in the search for bodies, said Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee.
The state-run Lao Airlines released an updated list of the 44 passengers’ nationalities Thursday. It said the flight included 16 Lao nationals, seven French, six Australians, five Thais, three Koreans, two Vietnamese and one person each from Canada, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and the United States.
The Canadian passenger has yet to be identified.
A Foreign Affairs spokesman in Ottawa said Wednesday that the department was working closely with local authorities to confirm if Canadian citizens had been affected.
Cambodian authorities said one of the plane’s pilots was a 56-year-old Cambodian with more than 30 years flying experience.
Details of the crash remained murky. Lao Airlines said in a statement that the plane took off from the capital Vientiane and “ran into extreme bad weather conditions” as it prepared to land at Pakse Airport. The area is known for its remote Buddhist temples, nature treks and waterfalls that draw tourists.
The airline said it had yet to determine reasons for the crash of the ATR-72 aircraft, which was virtually new and had just been delivered in March. The crash occurred about seven kilometres from the airport.
French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR said in a statement that “the circumstances of the accident are still being determined.” It said that it will assist in the investigation which will be led by Lao authorities.
The ATR-72 has been involved in 16 crashes since it went into service in 1988, according to databases kept by the Flight Safety Foundation and the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. The death toll from Wednesday’s crash was the second highest on record involving an ATR-72; accidents in the U.S. in 1988 and Cuba in 2010 each killed 68 people. ATR had delivered 611 of the planes by the end of last year.
Among the six Australians on board, was a family of four. Relatives released a photo of the family, Gavin and Phoumalaysy Rhodes and their two children, a three-year-old girl and a 17-month-old boy.
The other two Australians were a father and son. They were identified as Michael Creighton, a 42-year-old aid worker based in Laos who had worked for the United Nations, and his father, Gordon Creighton, 71, a retired teacher who was visiting his son.
“We have lost a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a fiance and a best mate in one tragic circumstance and we are trying to come to terms with our loss,” the family said in a statement. Michael Creighton was living in Laos with his fiance, who was not on the plane.
Hazardous conditions
Rescuers battled hazardous conditions Thursday in the search for bodies from a Lao Airlines plane which plunged into the Mekong River.
As rescuers scoured the river for the submerged plane, a crane perched on a floating platform in the middle of the Mekong was on standby to try to winch up the aircraft.
About 10 boats of varying sizes plied the fast flowing waters and divers from a Thai rescue team were on the scene to assist.
"It's difficult to dive because there is a strong current and it's dangerous. So I think it's 50/50 that we will find something," said Thai rescue diver Aniwat Plaeng-ngaan, 20. Crowds of local people, monks and security personnel watched from the banks. Some recounted seeing the plane in trouble before it came down.
"I heard a boom! A sound like a bomb going off. There was smoke and flames before it crashed," said local village chief Buasorn Kornthong, 37.
Some debris was seen floating along the river and suitcases were wedged in mud on the riverbank.
Some of those killed were taken to a Chinese-run mortuary in Pakse town, which is a hub for tourists travelling to more remote areas in southern Laos.
Three bodies draped in blue plastic sheets were seen in the building, which was guarded by some 10 policemen, some armed, who turned away onlookers.
"They are foreigners from the crash," staff at the centre told AFP, adding that their nationalities were unknown.
Lao Airlines said the aircraft hit "extreme" bad weather while witnesses described seeing the aircraft buffeted by strong winds.
"The plane was about to land but appeared to be hit by a strong wind, causing its head to ascend and pushing it away from the airport area and out of reach of the air traffic control radar," state-run Laos news agency KPL quoted a witness as saying.
Cambodia's civil aviation office said the pilot was one of its nationals and had "many years" of flying experience.
The QV301 flight set off from Vientiane on time at 2.45pm (0745 GMT) and was supposed to arrive in Pakse just over an hour later.
French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR said the twin-engine turboprop aircraft was new and had been delivered in March.
Founded in 1976, Lao Airlines serves domestic airports and destinations in China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Impoverished Laos, a one-party communist state, has had 29 fatal air accidents since the 1950s, according to the Aviation Safety Network, whose data showed that the country's safety record had improved dramatically in the last decade.
The last fatal air accident was in October 2000 when eight people died after a plane operated by the airline -- then called Lao Aviation -- crashed in remote mountains in the northeast of the country.
Thursday 17 October 2013
http://globalnews.ca/news/907554/8-bodies-recovered-after-laos-plane-crash/
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