BANGKOK (AP) — A military plane carrying senior Lao government officials crashed Saturday in a wooded area as it approached an airport in the country’s northeast, killing at least five people, including the defense minister and other high-ranking members of the authoritarian country’s ruling party.

Lao National Television showed video of the mangled wreckage of the plane, with smoke rising from its badly charred remains. The footage showed rescuers pulling away pieces of aircraft debris and trying to dig through the remaining fuselage with shovels, as medical crews stood by watching.

About 18 people were believed to be on board the plane, which left Vientiane, Laos’ capital, early Saturday morning to bring the group to an official ceremony in Xiangkhoung province, about 470 kilometers (290 miles) away, said Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee.

Among those confirmed killed were Defense Minister Douangchay Phichit and his wife, said Nipat Thonglek, the Thai Defense Ministry’s permanent secretary.