Rescue teams on Wednesday found the crash site of a helicopter that went missing in a heavy rainstorm in northern Thailand with five people on board, including three senior government officials, dpa reported.
The crash site of the Eurocopter AS 350, which went missing Tuesday, was located early Wednesday in a forest in Na Muen district of Nan province, 420 kilometres north of Bangkok, said Army Major General Cheewan Horabuth, who heads the search and rescue operation.
At least two bodies were found at the crash site and rescue workers were searching for the three other men. The passenger list included the permanent secretary of Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, the inspector-general of National Parks department and an advisor to the Royal Household.
The Mineral Resources Department helicopter went missing shortly after it took off in a heavy rainstorm from Phitsanulok airport Tuesday morning to take the officials to the inauguration of a river basin development project.
A team of 350 soldiers and paramilitary personnel were dispatched to find the missing aircraft.
Cheewan said they finally located the crash site by tracking a signal from the mobile phone of one of the victims.