At least five people, including a foreigner, were known to have survived Thursday's crash of the Y-12 aircraft belonging to the state-owned Lao Aviation airlines, the officials said. There was no word on the fate of the others on board, and rescue efforts are going on in the rugged mountainous terrain where the plane went down, said an official of the Lao West Coast Helicopter, a private company leading the search operations. The official said the survivors are being flown back to the capital. Among the passengers were seven foreigners including nationals from India, Singapore, Germany and South Africa, said an airline official speaking on condition of anonymity. The nationality of the foreign survivor was not known. The Chinese-made Y-12, a twin-turboprop general purpose aircraft, was flying at full capacity, the airline official said. The flight path of QV703 goes over difficult mountains in Saysomboun and Xieng Khouan Provinces. Sam Neua is the provincial capital of Houaphanh province, about 350 kilometers (216 miles) northeast of Vientiane. The area was the home of Pathet Lao leaders, who declared it the "Liberated Zone" during the Indochina wars.

(AP)