18 Iranian tourists killed in Thai crash-diplomat

PHUKET, Thailand, Sep 18 (Reuters) Eighteen Iranian tourists were among 89 people killed when a Thai budget airliner crashed on the resort island of Phuket on Sunday, an Iranian diplomat said.

The dead, among 24 Iranians on a tour, included 4 children and two couples on their honeymoon, Safdar Safiee, an Iranian consular official in Thailand, told Reuters today.

The six survivors were in hospital, he said.

Reuters SS DB1143