Copter crash kills Myanmar general

YANGON, Myanmar -- A high-ranking official in Myanmar's military government has been killed in a helicopter crash, a senior government source says.

Lt. Gen. Tin Oo was on the helicopter which went down Monday near Moulmein, about 80 miles from the Thai border and 100 miles southeast of Yangon.

Ten people were said to have survived the crash of the Russian-made helicopter. Ten others were missing, among them Brig. Gen. Lun Maung, a minister attached to the prime minister's office.

The senior source said that despite earlier reports, Col. Thein Myunt, the minister for border affairs, was not on the helicopter.

The government believes that fog and pilot error were responsible for the crash.

The aircraft was said to have crashed in the Salween River where Tin Oo and his party had gone to inspect a new bridge.

In Yangon, well-wishers and friends thronged the home of Tin Oo to comfort his wife.

Bloodless coup

Tin Oo, 67, was known by the title of Secretary 2 in the ruling State Peace and Development Council. He was the army chief of staff and the fourth-ranking general in the regime that came to power in a bloodless coup in 1988.

Tin Oo had survived at least one assassination attempt in April 1997 when a parcel bomb airmailed from Japan exploded in his house, killing his 32-year-old daughter, Cho Lei Oo, a university lecturer. Tin Oo was in the house but escaped unhurt.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962, and the State Peace and Development Council came to power in 1988 after a crackdown on a pro-democracy movement.

The regime keeps a tight grip on the media in Myanmar, and the public usually knows very little about the government and its activities.

The junta has faced intense Western criticism for stifling the opposition, which is led by Aung San Suu Kyi. She won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to bring democracy to this Southeast Asian country.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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