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Laos Defence Minister Douangchay Phichit's plane crashes Laos Defence Minister Douangchay Phichit's plane crashes
(35 minutes later)
A military plane carrying the defence minister of Laos and other senior officials has crashed in the north of the country. A military plane carrying Laos Defence Minister Douangchay Phichit and other senior officials has crashed in the north of the country.
It is thought the plane came down in the province of Xiang Khouang, nearly 500km (311 miles) from the capital Vientiane where its journey began. It is thought the plane came down in the province of Xiangkhouang, nearly 500km (311 miles) from the capital Vientiane where its journey began.
At least 14 people, including the long-serving Defence Minister Douangchay Phichit, are thought to have been on board. About 20 people, including the the governor of Vientiane, are thought to have been on board.
There has been no word on casualties.There has been no word on casualties.
The officials are believed to have been travelling to an official ceremony in Xiangkhouang.
In October last year a civilian jet operated by Lao Airlines crashed into the Mekong River in bad weather, killing all 49 people on board.
Laos, a landlocked country of about seven million people, has an authoritarian communist one-party government and is one of Asia's poorest nations.