Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Oct 06: Prime Minister Hun Sen left this morning for a regional summit to Indonesia, but his departure was delayed by one hour when fuel began leaking from the plane's left wing. Hun Sen was taken to an airport lounge while firefighters cleaned up the spill and the crew of the Boeing 717 operated by Thai-owned Siem Reap Air ran a test flight.

Hun Sen was traveling with more than 20 officials to the October 7-8 Asean summit in Bali. He declined to answer questions from reporters, waving as he boarded the plane. The fuel leak was due to overfueling of the plane by the airline's technical team, said Hok Lundy, national police chief. A telephone call placed this morning to the company's Phnom Penh office went unanswered.

Some officials had boarded the plane before the fuel leak began. One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the incident as "scary".

Bureau Report