Laos asks for Thailand's continual help in air crash identification mission

BANGKOK, October 21 (TNA) - Lao authorities have asked Thai officials to continue supporting their identifications of last Wednesday's air crash bodies for another three days. Sek Wannamethee, Director-General of the Department of Information under the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told journalists of the development on Monday. Sek elaborated that the Lao government has asked six identification experts of the Royal Thai Police to continue to work in Laos for three more days, while others will return to Thailand on October 22. According to the senior official, the Royal Thai Air Force will, on the other hand, transport the bodies of Thai victims to Thailand. The senior official reported that 42 bodies of a total of 49 air crash victims have been discovered, 17 of them have already been verified, including two Thai victims. All the bodies have been remained in Pakse, the capial of Laos' Champasak province, where the ill-fated Lao Airlines ATR plane crashed, while samples of bodies have been sent for DNA tests in Thailand. Thai and Australian identification officials have continued to work in Laos and they hope to find the bodies of all Thai victims in the air crash. Experts of France-based ATR aircraft manufacturer and Lao officials have been searching for the plane wreck and its flight data recorder. It was reported that the group had detected signals of the flight data recorder, or black box, but could not yet locate it due to the murky water and very strong currents of the Mekong River. Normally, black boxes transmit strong signals for three days, after which their signals are weaker over times and may be too weak to be located. The senior Thai official noted that Vientiane has also expressed its gratitude towards Thailand for helping it cope with the Lao Airlines domestic plane crash until the situation has alleviated. (TNA)