|
Search teams said Wednesday there were no survivors from a plane
that crashed in southern Cambodia early this week with 22 people
aboard, including South Korean and Czech tourists, officials said.
The Russian-made An-24 aircraft operated by PMT Air crashed
Monday during a storm while flying between Siem Reap — site
of the famed Angkor Wat temple complex — and Sihanoukville on
the southern coast.
Information Minister Khieu Kanharith announced that all aboard
had been killed hours after the searchers located the crash site
high on a forested mountain.
"All have died. It is confirmed," he said.
Thirteen South Korean and three Czech tourists were on board, as
well as five Cambodian airline employees and a Russian co-pilot,
officials said.
A helicopter spotted the crash site for the first time early
Wednesday morning after some 1,000 soldiers and police mounted an
urgent two-day search by land and air through treacherous jungle in
rainy monsoon weather.
The plane crashed northeast of Bokor Mountain in Kampot
province, according to provincial Deputy Governor Khoy Khun Huor,
who said he saw the crash site from a helicopter. He said the
wreckage did not appear to have been on fire.
More than a dozen family members of some of the South Korean
passengers arrived in Phnom Penh from Seoul late Tuesday to await
news of the fate of their relatives.
Ly Thuch, a disaster management official, said the Cambodian
government will pay for their accommodation while they are in the
country.
PMT Air is a small Cambodia airline that began flights in
January from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville, a new domestic route
launched by the government to spur the country's burgeoning
tourism industry.
Sar Sareth, the airline's director, said Tuesday that he did
not know what year the crashed plane was built, but added that it
was in "good condition" before taking off from Siem Reap on
Monday.
"It was always in compliance with flight technical and safety
procedures. But we cannot say anything yet (about the cause)
because information is on the flight recorder," he said.
 |
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
