Burmese general mourned by thousands

Khin Nyunt and other top leaders attended the funeral

Thousands of people have lined the streets of Burma's capital Rangoon to watch the funeral procession of the country's fourth most powerful leader.

Lieutenant-General Tin Oo was killed on Monday, along with 11 others in his delegation, when his helicopter plunged into the Salween river after suffering engine trouble.

Four people are still missing, presumed dead, while 13 passengers survived.

Rangoon was packed with people watching the procession

All the victims were given a military funeral, with soldiers carrying coffins draped with Burmese flags and decorated with wreaths along the mile-long route.

Reports said security was tight in the capital and shops were closed. The hundreds of wreaths sent by well-wishers reportedly had to undergo security checks.

Officials have blamed bad weather and mechanical failure for the crash.

Houses packed

The houses of the general and Brigadier-General Lun Maung, a minister in the prime minister's office who was also killed, were packed with visitors paying their respects to their families.

The regime has been criticised for human rights abuses

Analysts have said the death of General Tin Oo - officially known as Secretary Two in the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and chief of staff in the army - would have an impact on the government.

A veteran of campaigns against ethnic and communist insurgents, General Tin Oo had often publicly threatened to "annihilate opponents of the regime".

Parcel bomb

There has been no suggestion of foul play in the helicopter crash, but the general has been the target of two previous assassination attempts in the 1990s.

The military government has been in power since 1988

In April 1997, a parcel bomb sent from Japan exploded in his house, killing his eldest daughter but sparing him.

General Tin Oo also had a narrow escape in December 1996, when two bombs exploded at a Buddhist shrine on the outskirts of Rangoon just hours after he visited the area.

The blasts - which the government blamed on ethnic Karen guerrillas - killed five people and wounded 17.