A plane in Cambodia carrying about 20 passengers and crew was believed to have gone down in thick jungle south of Phnom Penh, an aviation official said Monday, acccording to dpa. The official, who declined to be named, said search parties were being dispatched to Kampot province, about 150 kilometres from the capital, but there was no confirmation yet as to the exact location of the crash. Foreigners were believed to be among the missing. He declined to immediately confirm the name of the charter company operating the flight but said the missing plane was believed to be a Russian-made aircraft that had been making a scheduled flight from Siem Reap, the gateway to the famed Angkor temples, to the beach resort of Sihanoukville. The plane took off from the northern town of Siem Reap early Monday and lost contact at around 11 am, he said. Aircraft of its type have a capacity of around 16 passengers and usually carry four crew. Sihanoukville officially reopened a regional airport earlier this year, and tourism officials have been heavily promoting flights direct from Angkor, the nation's top tourist draw, to that area's pristine beaches, hoping to boost the country's vital tourism industry.
