Monday, June 25, 2007

S. Korea to send officials to Cambodia for plane crash

SEOUL, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The South Korean government plans to dispatch officials on the next flight out of Seoul to Cambodia to deal with a plane crash in Cambodia following reports that 13 South Koreans were aboard the ill-fated plane, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said Monday.

"We are still gathering information through our diplomatic mission in Phnom Penh," said Kim Hee-chul, an official at the consular division of the South Korean Foreign Ministry.

To take control of the reported accident in the nearest future possible, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade also plans to file a request with the Cambodian Embassy in South Korea for cooperation, said an unnamed official of the Foreign Ministry.

Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported that a Russian-made An-24 plane with a total of 22 passengers and crew members, crashed near Kirirom Mountain, 130 km west of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, on Monday.

The flight was reportedly en route to Cambodia's coastal city of Sihanoukville from Siem Reap, where the famous Angkor Wat temple is located.

Local authorities were quoted as saying that 13 South Koreans and three Cambodians were on the passenger list.

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