Search for Black Box of crashed Lao airlines plane continues

BANGKOK, October 23 (TNA) - Laotian officials and authorities of the manufacturer of the ill-fated Lao Airlines which crashed in the Mekong River last week continued searching for the plane’s flight data and voice recorders to help determine the crash whether it was caused by human error or a technical problem. They said the search for the Black Box continued in the river. The ill-fated Lao Airlines ATR-72 turboprop plane with 49 passengers and crew crashed last Wednesday while en route from the capital of Vientiane to Pakse airport in Champasak province. Meanwhile, the Thai government sent a helicopter to pick up the body of a fourth Thai victim for home identified as Yanyong Arpanun. His body was retrieved yesterday. The chopper is scheduled to arrive in Thailand Wednesday afternoon. Forensic officials are still busy trying to identify the remaining 16 out of the total 42 bodies which had been retrieved from the river. So far, the body of the fifth Thai identified as Nipon Chaichanakuldee still could not be verified. Thai forensic officials who are currently helping Laotian authorities in body verification process have contacted a hospital in Ubon Ratchathani border province and informed that relatives of one of three South Koreans perished in the crash would like to send the body for temporarily keeping at the hospital on Monday. (TNA)