Tragic plane crash in Thailand: Rescue team cannot find survivors after 12-hour search; all nine passengers fear for their lives

BANGKOK (Bernama): A search and rescue team at the crash site of a small plane in Chachoengsao province in central Thailand has still not found any survivors after searching for more than 12 hours.

Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the team had only found “fragments of the passengers and the pilot” but was still unable to identify them.

“The cause of the crash must be thoroughly investigated by experts. We have already asked the manufacturer and the parties concerned for their cooperation to proceed,” he said after visiting the crash site on Friday.

Local media reported that the Cessna Caravan C208 (HS-SKR) of Thai Flying Service with nine people on board left Suvarnabhumi Airport in Samut Prakan at 2.46 p.m. for Ko Mai Chee in Trat.

The plane is said to have crashed in Bang Pakong district in the western part of Chachoengsao at around 3:18 p.m. local time on Thursday.

However, Anutin, who is also interior minister, said everyone was trying their best to find survivors, “but you have to understand that everything is scattered.”

“Our main goal is to find out why the plane crashed in this way. Normally, planes should glide, but in this case it crashed, almost like in free fall. We are waiting for clear data to understand what happened before, during and after takeoff,” he said. – Bernama