Unidentified small aircraft crashes in eastern Thailand

BANGKOK (AP) — Police in Thailand say a small aircraft has crashed near a mountaintop in the eastern province of Rayong.

Contradictory reports from the scene described the aircraft as a small plane or a helicopter.

Police Senior Sgt.-Maj. Lertnaris Maneelert of Huai Pong subdistrict, the site of the accident, said the aircraft crashed in the early evening, and that nearby villagers heard an explosion and informed the authorities.

The identity and condition of the people on board were not immediately known. Photos posted online by the newspapers Khao Sod and Thai Rath showed a fire burning on a mountainside in the dark of night.

Lertnaris said rescue teams including police and soldiers were being assembled but were facing difficulty scaling the slope in the dark.

He said military helicopters had flown over the site and believed the downed aircraft was a small two-seat helicopter.

Rayong is part of Thailand's Eastern Seaboard, which has both popular seaside tourist destinations and large industrial developments.