Crew relatives to leave for Thailand

BEIJING - Twenty-nine relatives of the 12 crew members who died after their ships were attacked and hijacked by a group of armed men on the Mekong River will leave for Thailand on Thursday to identify the bodies, local Authorities said.

Along with the relatives of the victims, the 52-member group also includes six partners of the ships and 17 officials from Southwest China's Yunnan province, said Duan Jinhua, a senior publicity official of Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture in Yunnan province.

Two cargo ships, the Hua Ping and the Yu Xing 8 Hao, were attacked on Oct 5 on the Mekong River.