No sign of survivors in Laos ATR crash

A Lao Airlines ATR-72, with 44 passengers and five crew, operating as QV301 from Vientiane to Pakse crashed while trying to land. Reports are that they encountered bad weather upon arriving at Pakse, and crashed into the Mekong River.

There are reports that there is no evidence of survivors.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that Lao Airlines is the operator of an ATR 72 turboprop has crashed during a service in Laos.
While the identity of the aircraft type has been confirmed by a source familiar with the situation, details of the accident remain sketchy.

www.flightglobal.com...

Multiple fatalities are being reported as a result of the ATR 72 crash in southern Laos, said to have occurred as the aircraft attempted to land at Pakse airport.

Lao Airlines' flight QV301 is the flight involved, according to Chinese state media. The carrier's timetable shows this service operates the Vientiane-Pakse route.

Some 40 occupants are said to have been on board the aircraft. ATR says it is "aware" of the event but has yet to confirm details.

www.flightglobal.com...

Laos' government indicates there is no evidence of survivors from the Lao Airlines ATR 72 crash in the south of the country.
It confirms that the accident involved flight QV301 which, it says, was transporting 44 passengers and five crew.

"Upon preparing to land at Pakse airport the aircraft ran into extreme bad weather conditions," says the statement from the transport ministry. "There [is] no news of survivors at this time."

www.flightglobal.com...

Huff post says at least 39 people dead.


www.huffingtonpost.co.uk...

Reuters says all on board killed.
in.reuters.com...

reply to post by smurfy


There's a lot of conflicting information coming out right now. It's still pretty early. Thanks for the link.

Zaphod58
reply to post by smurfy

 

There's a lot of conflicting information coming out right now. It's still pretty early. Thanks for the link.

Yes, actually the Reuters report seems pretty comprehensive now, all have died and several confirmations of the dead and their nationalities involving ten countries.

The aircraft is described as partially submerged with the tail broken off near the river.

There were 7 French citizens, 6 Australians (the manifest shows 5), 5 citizens of Thailand, 3 from Korea, 1 each from the US, Canada, China and Taiwan, and 2 Vietnamese on board. An early report says that strong winds may have played a role. Typhoon Nari had passed through the area shortly before, and the tail end was still hitting the area.

The Australian news are reporting that Michael Creighton, an explosives expert and his father were on board the plane. His father was visiting, and the flight was a routine one that his son took in his work on demining the country.

Also on board was Gavin Rhodes, his wife, and two children. The family were on vacation in the area until the end of the month.

One witness reported that the plane appeared to hit a wind gust, and the nose was pushed upwards.

The aircraft was registered as RPDL-34233, MSN 1071. It was delivered in March of this year. It's the first accident involving an ATR 72-600.