Lao PM visits crash victims' kin

Lao PM visits crash victims' kin

HANOI (DPA): The prime minister of Laos, Sisavath Keobounphanh, will meet the families of victims of a May 25 Lao plane crash when he pays an official visit to Vietnam starting on Monday, officials in Hanoi said yesterday.

The official condolences he will offer come after Vientiane paid US$10,000 to each Vietnamese family that lost a loved one in the crash, a Lao Embassy official said.

Fourteen Vietnamese and 12 Lao military officers died when their Russian-made Yak 40 crashed in mountains around the Plain of Jars during bad weather.

The crash was the largest single loss of senior Vietnamese military officers ever and is expected to lead to months of institutional inertia until replacements can be found. Among those lost were five recently promoted generals, most of whom had key operational posts.