BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- A Thai airliner carrying 146 people crashed in heavy rain Friday near an airport in southern Thailand, police said. At least 20 people survived, and possibly many more, according to local news reports.
There was no official confirmation on how many people survived the evening crash near Surat Thani, 330 miles south of Bangkok. But local TV footage from the crash site, two to three miles from the Surat Thani airport, showed at least eight survivors, all conscious. The report also said at least 20 injured passengers were taken to the hospital.Other television reports spoke of up to 50 survivors, but this could not be independently confirmed. The TV station ITV said the pilot was among the living, but this also could not be confirmed.
One of those shown on television was a boy, about 10, who had wounds on his forehead.
Rain was heavy in Surat Thani and rescuers were having difficulty sending ambulances to the crash site, a swampy area.
Thai Airways Flight TG261 had been on its way to Surat Thani from Bangkok when it crashed in Boon Pin district at 6:45 p.m.