Plane with Korean, Czech tourists aboard crashes in Cambodia
{{date|June 25, 2007}}
{{Cambodia}}
[[Image:Antonow an-24.jpg|thumb|left|250px|An Antonov AN-24.]]
[[Image:Cambodia-Kampot.png|thumb|left|Kampot Province is highlighted on a map of Cambodia.]]
An airliner carrying 22 people crashed into a remote mountainous area of [[Cambodia]] today, and the fate of those aboard remained uncertain as search teams were daunted by darkness and rugged terrain.

Radar contact with the [[w:PMTair|PMTair]] [[w:Antonov An-24|Antonov An-24]] was lost at around 10:40 a.m. local time (0340 GMT). The flight had departed at around 10 a.m. from [[w:Angkor International Airport|Angkor International Airport]] in [[w:Siem Reap|Siem Reap]], near the popular [[w:Angkor Wat|Angkor Wat]] temple complex, and was heading to [[w:Sihanoukville International Airport|Sihanoukville International Airport]] at [[w:Sihanoukville|Sihanoukville]], a beach resort town on the [[w:Gulf of Thailand|Gulf of Thailand]].

A report by [[w:Kyodo News|Kyodo News]] said local villagers heard a loud explosion, rushed to the crash site, and found no survivors.

Cambodian officials have not confirmed or denied the report, and said they were still searching for the wreckage.

"We don't know how many are dead or how many survived," Him Sarun, chief of cabinet of the Civil Aviation Secretariat was quoted as saying by [[w:Agence France-Presse|Agence France-Presse]] (AFP).

By nightfall, emergency workers said they had not yet located the crash site. "It could have crashed into the side of a hill. It could be anywhere. This is difficult country," an unnamed rescue worker was quoted as saying by [[w:Deutsche Presse-Agentur|Deutsche Presse-Agentur]] (DPA). 

An unnamed airport official told [[w:Reuters|Reuters]] that the plane had crashed into a mountain in [[w:Kampot Province|Kampot Province]], about 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the capital, [[w:Phnom Penh|Phnom Penh]]. "We heard there was something wrong with the plane at Kom Chhay mountain in Kampot," the official was quoted as saying.

Earlier in the day, [[w:Royal Cambodian Armed Forces|Royal Cambodian Armed Forces]] dispatched helicopters to search for the crash site, but visibility was poor because of rain.

Deputy provincial police chief In Chiva told AFP that some conservationists working in the mountainous jungle near Kampot's [[w:Bokor Hill Station|Bokor Hill Station]] had seen the plane crash. "The area is heavily forested and the sky is dark [with rain] so it is hard for us to search. We have not found any pieces of the plane yet," he was quoted saying by AFP.

The search is centered in Chhuk district, about 40 kilometers (24 miles) north of the provincial capital, Kampot governor Thach Khorn told DPA. "We are having serious difficulties reaching the wreck," he was quoted as saying. "We can do no more to get to the site by road tonight. However, we are doing everything we can to reach the area as soon as possible," Khorn added. 

The flight had 16 passengers – 13 [[South Korea]]ns and three [[Czech Republic|Czechs]], plus a flight crew of one [[Russia]]n and five Cambodians.

PMTair is a small Cambodian airline with domestic and international routes, including direct flights from [[w:Seoul|Seoul]] to Siem Reap, feeding a large influx of tourists from South Korea in the past few years. The airline had begun regularly scheduled Siem Reap-Sihanoukville flights in January, providing a direct link between the two popular tourist towns.

"We cannot find the plane right now, so we cannot say anything," an unnamed PMT official was quoted saying by AFP.

The airline's website lists its current fleet as having two jets, a [[w:Boeing 737|Boeing 737-200]] and a [[w:McDonnell Douglas MD-80/MD-90|McDonnell Douglas MD-83]], and four prop-driven planes: two each of the Russian-made Antonov AN-24s and [[w:Antonov AN-12|AN-12]]s.

The airline has a checkered safety reputation. In 2005, a piece of landing gear snapped off an aging Antonov AN-24 on landing at [[w:Banlung|Banlung]], [[w:Ratanakiri|Ratanakiri]], with 59 passengers aboard. There were no injuries, but the airline was temporarily grounded after the incident.

== Sister links ==
{{sisters
|2007 PMTair An-24 crash
}}
== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=322289
|title=Plane with S. Korean tourists crashes in Cambodia, no survivors found
|author=
|pub=Kyodo News
|date=June 25, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=119693
|title=22 on missing Cambodia plane
|author=Deutsche Presse-Agentur
|pub=Bangkok Post
|date=June 25, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/284367/1/.html
|title=Charter plane carrying Koreans, Czechs crashes in Cambodia
|author=Agence France-Presse
|pub=Channel NewsAsia
|date=June 25, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BKK215197.htm
|title=Plane carrying Koreans, Czechs missing in Cambodia
|author=
|pub=Reuters
|date=June 25, 2007}}

== External links ==
* [http://pmtair.com/ PMTair]

{{Publish}}
{{Archived}}

[[Category:Cambodia]]
[[Category:South Korea]]
[[Category:Czech Republic]]
[[Category:Asia]]
[[Category:Disasters and accidents]]
[[Category:Aviation]]
[[Category:Korean Peninsula]]
[[Category:Europe]]
An Antonov AN-24.
Kampot Province is highlighted on a map of Cambodia.
An airliner carrying 22 people crashed into a remote mountainous area of Cambodia today, and the fate of those aboard remained uncertain as search teams were daunted by darkness and rugged terrain.

Radar contact with the PMTair Antonov An-24 was lost at around 10:40 a.m. local time (0340 GMT). The flight had departed at around 10 a.m. from Angkor International Airport in Siem Reap, near the popular Angkor Wat temple complex, and was heading to Sihanoukville International Airport at Sihanoukville, a beach resort town on the Gulf of Thailand.

A report by Kyodo News said local villagers heard a loud explosion, rushed to the crash site, and found no survivors.

Cambodian officials have not confirmed or denied the report, and said they were still searching for the wreckage.

"We don't know how many are dead or how many survived," Him Sarun, chief of cabinet of the Civil Aviation Secretariat was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

By nightfall, emergency workers said they had not yet located the crash site. "It could have crashed into the side of a hill. It could be anywhere. This is difficult country," an unnamed rescue worker was quoted as saying by Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA). 

An unnamed airport official told Reuters that the plane had crashed into a mountain in Kampot Province, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the capital, Phnom Penh. "We heard there was something wrong with the plane at Kom Chhay mountain in Kampot," the official was quoted as saying.

Earlier in the day, Royal Cambodian Armed Forces dispatched helicopters to search for the crash site, but visibility was poor because of rain.

Deputy provincial police chief In Chiva told AFP that some conservationists working in the mountainous jungle near Kampot's Bokor Hill Station had seen the plane crash. "The area is heavily forested and the sky is dark with rain so it is hard for us to search. We have not found any pieces of the plane yet," he was quoted saying by AFP.

The search is centered in Chhuk district, about 40 kilometers (24 miles) north of the provincial capital, Kampot governor Thach Khorn told DPA. "We are having serious difficulties reaching the wreck," he was quoted as saying. "We can do no more to get to the site by road tonight. However, we are doing everything we can to reach the area as soon as possible," Khorn added. 

The flight had 16 passengers – 13 South Koreans and three Czechs, plus a flight crew of one Russian and five Cambodians.

PMTair is a small Cambodian airline with domestic and international routes, including direct flights from Seoul to Siem Reap, feeding a large influx of tourists from South Korea in the past few years. The airline had begun regularly scheduled Siem Reap-Sihanoukville flights in January, providing a direct link between the two popular tourist towns.

"We cannot find the plane right now, so we cannot say anything," an unnamed PMT official was quoted saying by AFP.

The airline's website lists its current fleet as having two jets, a Boeing 737-200 and a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, and four prop-driven planes: two each of the Russian-made Antonov AN-24s and AN-12s.

The airline has a checkered safety reputation. In 2005, a piece of landing gear snapped off an aging Antonov AN-24 on landing at Banlung, Ratanakiri, with 59 passengers aboard. There were no injuries, but the airline was temporarily grounded after the incident.
Cambodia South Korea Czech Republic Asia Disasters and accidents Aviation Korean Peninsula Europe