BANGKOK (AFP) - At least three people were killed in a helicopter crash in north-eastern Thailand on Wednesday (July 18), officials said.

The victims were travelling to Khon Kaen province in the early morning when the helicopter crashed before landing.

"The flight was supposed to land in Khon Kaen airport at 9:10am but around 9:00am we got a report that the helicopter crashed into a rice field," Alongkot Vorakee, a senior official in the province, told AFP.

A fourth body may be recovered as a pilot, co-pilot and two passengers were believed to be on board.

"The death toll may be four but we can only see three bodies here, the fourth may be under the wreckage," said Lieutenant Colonel Jetmanoon Sapapairot, a district police official in the area.

There was no information about the passengers and the purpose of their trip or why the accident happened.

Authorities from the Department of Aviation were dispatched to the wreckage site to investigate.