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Tourists killed in Laos plane crash

Tourists from 10 countries were killed when an aircraft crashed into the Mekong River in southern Laos.


A total of 49 people are reported to have died as a result of the Lao Airlines ATR-42 going down in bad weather.


The aircraft was on a domestic service from the capital Vientiane and came down about five miles from Pakse airport.


Passengers on board included five Thai nationals and three South Koreans and as well as people from Australia, Canada, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, the US and Vietnam.


Thai TV showed a photograph of an aircraft partly submerged in shallow water, its tail severed, next to a group of rescuers in small boats, Reuters said.


A Lao Airlines statement said there had been 44 passengers and five crew on the aircraft.


The route between the capital Vientiane and Pakse is popular with the growing numbers of tourists visiting Laos, according to the BBC.


The Laos Ministry of Public Works and Transport said: “Upon preparing to land at Pakse airport the aircraft ran into extreme bad weather conditions and was reportedly crashed into the Mekong river.”

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