CHACHOENGSAO — A small plane carrying nine people, including passengers and crew, crashed in Chachoengsao Province on Thursday, just 10 minutes after takeoff. Officials have indicated that all on board are likely to have perished.
On the evening of August 22, officials were recovering the wreckage of the small plane that crashed in Moo 6, Ban Khao Din, Bang Pakong District, Chachoengsao. Initially, officials did not find any bodies of the passengers. It was later discovered that this was because the plane had plunged nose-first, embedding itself more than 10 meters deep into the muddy ground.
At one point, they used an excavator to clear the waterway at the crash site due to seawater pushing in and flooding the area, which is surrounded by rice fields, irrigation canals, fish ponds, and shrimp farms.
According to the Department of Civil Aviation, the aircraft belongs to Thai Flying Service Company Limited, flight TFT209, a Cessna Caravan C208 with registration HSSKR. It took off from Suvarnabhumi Airport at 2:46 p.m., destined for Trat Airport (Ko Mai Si).
The aircraft lost contact with Bangkok Approach on frequency 122.35 MHz at 2:57 p.m., at a position 18.7 nautical miles southeast (BEARING 116/18.7 NM). It was reported that the aircraft was carrying seven passengers and two pilots on board.
Mr. Chonlatee Yangtrong, Governor of Chachoengsao Province, said that about 300 officials have been mobilized to search for the bodies of passengers on the small plane throughout the night. So far, several human body parts have been found.
He stated that the passengers included five Chinese nationals: a 12-year-old girl and a 43-year-old woman with the surname Zhang, a 45-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl with the surname Yin, and a 13-year-old woman surnamed Tang. The four Thai nationals were: two female flight attendants – Ms. Napak, age 35, and Ms. Siriyupa, age 26; Mr. Pornsak, age 30, who was the co-pilot; and Flight Lieutenant Anucha, age 61, who was the pilot.
Rescue workers and search teams have rotated shifts to continue the mission of searching for the bodies of the deceased. They have also switched to an excavator with a longer arm, as the previously used excavator had a shorter arm and couldn’t dig deep enough.
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