PAKSE, Laos - Rescuers battled hazardous conditions Thursday in the search for bodies from a Lao Airlines plane which plunged into the Mekong River with 49 people on board, more than half of them foreigners.
All passengers and crew, from nearly a dozen countries, were presumed dead after the turboprop ATR-72 came down in stormy weather on Wednesday, sinking to the bottom of the swollen waters.
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.
Crowds of local people, monks and security personnel watched from the banks. Some recounted seeing the plane in trouble before it came down.
Some debris was seen floating in the water, while suitcases were wedged
in mud on the riverbank and what appeared to be part of a propeller and
wing were seen on land.
Source: Yahoo News...More...
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