Investigators in Laos said Tuesday they have retrieved the midsection of a Lao Airlines passenger plane that crashed into the Mekong River a week ago, killing all 49 people on board, but said they have not recovered the flight recorder. The Lao Airlines ATR-72 turboprop plane crashed last Wednesday during a heavy storm as it approached Pakse Airport in southern Laos. It struck a riverbank and then plowed into the swift-running river. Yakua Lopangkao, director-general of Laos’ Department of Civil Aviation, said searchers used a crane to lift the middle of the fuselage from the river but believe the “black box,” or flight recorder, is still underwater. —AP
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