A private helicopter crashed in Chonnabot district of the northeastern province of Khon Kaen on Wednesday morning (July 18), killing three people on board, police said.

Pol Col Kirati Amornpatpanin, the Chonnabot police chief, said the helicopter crashed at about 9am in a rice field near Ban Nong Pling in Tambon Wang Saeng and went up in flames.

Parts of the aircraft scattered all over the crash site which has been cordoned off for further examination, he said.

Of the three people killed, only two were identified. They were Wanchai Waratisai, a pilot of SFS Aviation Company, and Seksan Wanna, 51, of Phetchabun’s Muang district.

Atthaya Larpmak, director of the Khon Kaen airport, said initial reports reaching him said the helicopter, an Airbus helicopter AS355 NP, belonging to Hililux Aviation Company, departed from a flight training airfield in Saraburi. The aircraft lost contact while flying over Chonnabot district of Khon Kaen in the cloudy sky.

Authorities concerned were investigating the cause of the accident, he said.