BANGKOK, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- A rain-making single-engined turboprop crashed on Tuesday in Western Thailand, killing two onboard.
Both were flying over the skies in Kanchanaburi Province on duty when the aircraft experienced mechanical failure, local media reported.
The green-white Cessna Caravan aircraft commissioned under the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation, was flying under light rain before it plunged into Kanchanaburi’s Sai Yok district.
Kanchanaburi Provincial Governor Suksan Jongsathitham told the media that the two deaths included a pilot and a government official.
“The two died immediately after the aircraft plunged into the ground,” said Suksan, “witnesses said they could hear a huge explosion after the plane crashed. The noise of the explosion also amplified as a result of the explosion of chemical substances in making artificial rain.”
In an effort to tackle drought in rural Thailand, the late King initiated the Royal Rainmaking Project since 1955 in an attempt to bring rainwater to farmers throughout the country.
