Lao search teams onOctober 22 began efforts to reach and retrieve the wreckage of a LaoAirlines plane which plunged into the Mekong River killing all 49 peopleon board on October 16.
The aircraft was spotted at thedepth of 7-12 metres with its flight data record boxes, which may holdcrucial evidence to decode the cause of the crash.
On October21, the bodies of 43 of the victims had been recovered from the swollenriver, with 17 identified and two Vietnamese nationals returned totheir families.
In the afternoon on the same day, Laosobserved a nationwide one-minute's silence to remember the victims ofthe crash, which is the nation's worst known air disaster.
An official memorial service took place in Pakse, Champassak province,near the crash site in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and DefenceMinister Duangchay Phichith.-VNA