75 Die as Vietnamese Jet Explodes, Crashes

A Soviet-built Air Vietnam airliner crashed in a monsoon rainstorm on its approach to the Bangkok airport today and burst into flames, killing at least 75 people and seriously injuring six others, rescue and hospital officials said.

Two pilots were among the survivors, and one said the plane may have been hit by lightning, said Tran Van Viet, third secretary at the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok.

Air Search and Rescue Center spokesman Sumlern Nansikul said 75 bodies were recovered from the wreckage and six survivors were hospitalized with serious injuries and burns.

Hit Ground, Exploded

The Soviet-made Tu-134 jet blew up after crashing in a field about four miles from Don Muang International Airport, said an air force spokesman, Sommot Sundaravej.

The plane crashed three minutes before it was scheduled to land, he said.

India’s ambassador to Vietnam, Arun Patwardhan, 48, was killed, along with his wife and son. Eight other Indians also died.

A second secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Hanoi, Kiyokata Ida, was also believed dead, said the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok. Two staffers of the Tokyo headquarters of Mitsubishi Corp., Japan’s largest trading firm, also were believed killed.

Numerous Europeans

Diplomats said two Frenchmen, two Swedes, one Briton and two Finns also died.

The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok said no Americans were aboard the plane.

Air Vietnam Flight 831, which left Vietnam’s capital of Hanoi at 10 a.m., is frequently taken by foreign diplomats and relief workers.

The Vietnamese official quoted pilot Phong Dinh Phuang, 41, as saying, “It was raining heavily and it felt like the plane was struck by lightning.”

Viet said Phuang was injured and still in shock.

Another pilot, Le Viet Dong, 39, also survived the crash and was undergoing operations for serious injuries.

“I heard a terrible explosion and saw a big ball of fire,” said Awn Cheuyklintet, 57, who was in his house only 20 yards from where the wreckage came to rest.

The plane smashed through an uninhabited roadside shop and broke into three pieces, Awn said.

United Press International reporter Sutin Wannabovorn, reporting from the site, said the nose of the plane and one large piece of the fuselage were half-submerged in a pond beside a dirt road. The main part of the fuselage, blackened and partly consumed by fire, lay on the other side of the road, he said.