Reports from Hanoi say the Vietnamese deputy Defence Minister, Dao Trong Lich, is missing -- believed dead -- following an air crash during an official visit to Laos.

The Vietnamese government told the BBC it was awaiting confirmation of the accident and there has been no official announcement by the Laotian authorities.

But aviation officials in Laos say General Lich was on board a Russian-made military aircraft which crashed in bad weather near the Plain of Jars.

It's not known how many other people were on board.

General Lich was Vietnam's chief of general staff and held a seat on the Central Committee of the Communist Party.