BANGKOK – A military plane carrying senior Lao government officials crashed Saturday in a wooded area as it approached an airport in the country’s northeast, killing at least five people, including the defense minister and other high-ranking members of the authoritarian country’s ruling party.
Lao National Television showed video of the mangled wreckage of the plane, with smoke rising from its badly charred remains. The footage showed rescuers pulling away pieces of aircraft debris and trying to dig through the remaining fuselage with shovels, as medical crews stood by watching.
Eighteen people were believed to be on board the plane, which left Vientiane, Laos’ capital, early Saturday morning to bring the group to an official ceremony in Xiangkhoung province, about 290 miles away, said Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee.
The Lao government is known for its secrecy, and most information about the crash – including the initial confirmation that it occurred – came from officials in neighboring Thailand.
The mountainous, landlocked country of 6.5 million people is one of the poorest in Asia. Its leaders are among the region’s most secretive, too, tolerating almost no opposition and maintaining strict control over the media.
