PHNOM PENH, June 25 (Reuters) - An aircraft carrying 13 South Koreans, three Czechs and four crew from the central Cambodian town of Siem Reap to the coastal city of Sihanoukville vanished from radar screens on Monday, an airport director said.

"We do not know the fate of the lost jet, but the authorities have sent helicopter search teams," Bun Ratha, Director of Siem Reap International airport, told Reuters.

He said the AN-24 jet had disappeared from radar screens at 10.40 a.m. (0340 GMT). One airport official, who did not want to be named, said he understood the plane had crashed into a mountain near the coastal town of Kampot.

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