Originally published on October 17, 2013 <br /><br /><br />A Lao Airlines plane carrying 49 people from 10 different nations crashed into the Mekong River in southern Laos on Wednesday, killing all on board.<br /><br />The ATR-72 turboprop plane was traveling from the Laos capital Vientiane was eight kilometers (five miles) short of Pakse, near the borders of Thailand and Cambodia when it crashed at about 4.10pm.<br /> <br />A statement from Lao Airlines said it had yet to determine the cause of the crash, in which a senior aviation official said the tail end of Typhoon Nari may have been a factor.<br /><br />According to Reuters, "those killed were mostly Lao nationals. But seven French nationals were also killed, the country's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.<br /><br />"South Koreans, Australians, Canadians, Taiwanese, Chinese, Burmese and Vietnamese and five Thais were also among the dead, said Thailand's foreign ministry spokesman, Sek Wannamethee.<br /><br />"Several officials confirmed none of the passengers or crew survived.<br /><br />"Lao Airlines is the national carrier of the communist state and has operated since 1976. Its aircraft carried 658,000 passengers last year and it has a fleet of just 14 planes, mostly propeller-driven.<br /><br />"Southern Laos was affected by Typhoon Nari, which hit the region on Tuesday killing 13 people in the Philippines and five in Vietnam.<br /><br />"Thai television showed a photograph of the plane partly submerged in shallow water on a stretch of the Mekong, the tail severed, next to a handful of rescuers in small boats.<br /><br />Local reports quoted witnesses as saying the plane had been blown off course by strong winds and rescue attempts were hampered by a lack of roads near the crash site.<br /><br />Laos authorities will lead the investigation into the crash.<br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />TomoNews is your daily source for top animated news. We've combined animation and video footage with a snarky personality to bring you the biggest and best stories from around the world.<br /><br />For news that's fun and never boring, visit our channel:<br />https://www.youtube.com/user/TomoNewsUS<br /><br />Subscribe to stay updated on all the top stories:<br />http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=TomoNewsUS<br /><br />Stay connected with us here:<br />Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Google+ http://gplus.to/TomoNewsUS
