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.