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Dozens feared dead as plane crashes in Laos

44 passengers and five crew were on board when the plane came down after hitting bad weather.

RESCUERS ARE CONTINUING the search for bodies after a Lao Airlines plane believed to be carrying 49 people, around half of them foreigners, plunged into the Mekong River during stormy weather.

Seven French citizens, six Australians and five Thais were among those thought to have been killed when the turboprop ATR-72 came down yesterday near Pakse airport in Champasak province.

Debris was seen floating in the river at the scene of the disaster, while suitcases were wedged in mud on the riverbank.

Around a dozen rescuers were using a crane perched on a floating platform in the middle of the Mekong to try to winch the submerged aircraft from the river, which was swollen by a recent tropical storm.

Divers from a Thai rescue team were on the scene to assist in the operation.

State-owned Lao Airlines said more than half of the 44 passengers and five crew onboard were foreign nationals.

Rescue teams have recovered six bodies so far but no survivors, said an airline official in Pakse.

“We can’t find most bodies or the plane yet because the aircraft has sunk,” he told AFP.

Eleven countries

Citizens from up to eleven countries were reported to have been on the flight from the capital Vientiane.

Some of those killed were taken to a mortuary at a Chinese temple in Pakse, 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.

France said it was rushing embassy officials to the site of the crash in Pakse.

French President Francois Hollande learned of the disaster “with profound emotion and great sadness” and offered “sincere condolences” and full support to the victims’ families, his office said in a statement.

According to a passenger list published by Thai media, people from the United States, Vietnam, Canada and Malaysia were on the flight.

‘Devastating time’

Australia said six of its nationals were feared dead, including a family of four.

The family of two Australian men missing, father and son Gordon and Michael Creighton, issued a statement requesting privacy “at this devastating time”.

“We have lost a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a fiancé and a best mate in one tragic circumstance and are trying to come to terms with our loss,” they said.

Thailand said five of its nationals had died.

Three South Koreans were also among the victims, according to the Transport Ministry in Seoul.

Taiwan said one of its citizens was killed while Beijing’s official Xinhua news agency said one Chinese was on board. It said an earlier figure of two had included the Taiwanese victim.

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    Mute Mike O'Connor
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    Oct 17th 2013, 7:58 AM

    I read this headline thinking it was Laois …. I’m a dope

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    Mute Montys Moonshine
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    Oct 17th 2013, 8:14 AM

    Don’t worry man, it’s still early :)

    44
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    Mute B9xiRspG
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    Oct 17th 2013, 8:26 AM

    Nope I thought the same

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    Mute Ciaran O Shea
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    Oct 17th 2013, 8:50 AM

    me too!!

    18
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    Mute Right Wing Steve ©
    Favourite Right Wing Steve ©
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    Oct 17th 2013, 9:02 AM

    Laois doesn’t exist

    36
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    Mute Bob Flynn
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    Oct 17th 2013, 9:16 AM

    Eh…yes it does! !!!

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    Mute Right Wing Steve ©
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    Oct 17th 2013, 9:18 AM

    You’re pulling my leg, I thought it was like Tír na nÓg, Atlantis or Leitrim.

    34
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    Mute Lindsey O Connor
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    Oct 17th 2013, 10:13 AM

    Thank god i wasn’t the only one!!! Read it four times before i twigged it!

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    Mute John Pepper
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    Oct 17th 2013, 10:38 AM

    Me aswell

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    Mute Edward Malone
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    Oct 17th 2013, 9:11 PM

    Haha me too , I thought the map looked funny

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    Mute Lorna Ní Cheallaigh
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    Oct 17th 2013, 8:26 AM

    Such a beautiful country but transport over there is crazy and lacking. We were nearly killed a dozen times travelling by bus and I refused to fly because I thought it would be safer. Its expected though for little to no saftey regluations. So sad for the families.

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    Mute Justin Donoghue
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    Oct 17th 2013, 10:03 AM

    The aircraft that crashed is very modern. Aer Arann use them.

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    Mute Dave O'Hanlon
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    Oct 17th 2013, 10:18 AM

    Was it the mountain roads between Luang Prabang and Phonsavan?, bus I was on spun a full 360 degrees on one of those roads. I was briefly looking right down the edge of the mountain from the back of the bus.

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    Mute Michael Fehily
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    Oct 17th 2013, 10:59 AM

    Justin..yes the AerArran here use the ATR72 and 42′s…This tragedy sounds like an ATC error…Dublin Airport has been closed many times due to high winds..Eyewitnesses ( according to the article ) say there were high winds at the time..Depending on the strength of the winds , a Transtalantic A330 can sometimes get diverted due to high winds , an ATR72 wouldn’t have a prayer in very high winds…That’s an Air Traffic Control error , not an aircraft fault….I may be wrong, but it sounds like it..As Lorna saystransport is lacking all over Asia and South America.

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    Mute Lauren Masterson
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    Oct 17th 2013, 8:03 AM

    Very sad. My worst fear ! RIP

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    Mute Jazz O'Gorman
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    Oct 17th 2013, 8:43 AM

    No stamp of approval from IATA, don’t fly, very sad.

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    Mute Karina Linares
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    Oct 17th 2013, 9:21 AM

    Heartbreaking news:(

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    Mute Allen Kiely
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    Oct 17th 2013, 11:02 AM

    I’ve flown that route before, most terrifying trip of my life, some of Loas Airlines planes don’t have ILS (instrument Landing Systems) installed and a s result on cloudy day, will circle until they find a break in the clouds, crazy stuff.

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    Mute Michael Fehily
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    Oct 17th 2013, 3:14 PM

    Interesting Allen…Scary stuff

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    Mute Paul Lawlor
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    Oct 17th 2013, 2:40 PM

    CIA involvement!

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    Mute Michael Fehily
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    Oct 17th 2013, 3:14 PM

    Osama is Back….!!!

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