88 Died in Thai Plane Crash- Many Tourists Aboard
Posted by
Jenny AlbanoSeptember 16, 2007 8:31 PMA plane carrying many foreign tourists crashed Sunday, September 16, in Thailand. The plane was trying to land while it was raining onto the Phuket, a small Thai island. The plane then split in to and burst into flames, authorities reported at least 88 people have died from the crash.
The budget One-Two-Go Airlines domestic flight OG269 was carrying 123 passengers and seven crew members from the capital, Bangkokm to Phuket, popular among tourists for its pristine beaches.
The plane crashed and then skidded off the runway, and then the plane broke in two. Officials think that the weather was a factor in the crash because visibility was bad when the plane was landing. The pilot was trying to make a go-around, but the plane lost balance and crashed.
One passenger said before the plane crashed he sensed that something was wrong. The passenger, identified as Sean, said that he heard a banging noise just before the plane went down. The passengers said they escaped the burning plane through the windows. Many said they feared the plane would explode so they ran as quickly as possible.
The health minister of Thialand said that that 60 bodies were retrieved quickly, but the rest took many hours to find. Out of the passengers on the plane 78 of them were tourists.
It is known that there were number of Americans that were on the flight. Four Americans were killed and at least one American survived. She is in a Thai hospital in stable condition.
This crash is the country's deadliest aviation accident since Dec. 11, 1998.
For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Airlines, Cruises, Buses, and Other Mass Transit Accidents.