The World - News from April 26, 1988

U.S. and Laotian teams are preparing to excavate a site where an American aircraft is believed to have crashed during the Vietnam War, the State Department said. The site is now being surveyed, and the full U.S. team will arrive later this week for the excavation, which is expected to take seven to 10 days, spokeswoman Phyllis Oakley said. She was unable to provide any details on the type of aircraft or the location of the dig. It is the third joint excavation as part of U.S. attempts to account for 555 Vietnam War-era American servicemen listed as missing in Laos. The other two--in February, 1985, and February, 1986--yielded several sets of remains.