The chartered plane carrying the Beijing Olympic Flame arrived on early Friday in Bangkok, the 12th leg of its global torch relay after finishing the last stop in New Dehli, India.

Executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad Jiang Xiaoyu (C), President of Thailand Olympic Committee Yutthasak Sasiprapha (L), and Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Zhang Jiuhuan (?3rd from?the right) take photos with the Olympic flame at the airport on Friday, April 18, 2008. [Photo: BOCOG]

The plane landed at the Sixth Airport of Royal Thai Air Force attached to the Don Mueang Airport in northern Bangkok at 2:25 a.m. Friday (1925GMT, Thursday), April 18.

The Olympic Flame Delegation from Beijing, headed by Jiang Xiaoyu, vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of Olympic Games (BOCOG), was welcomed by Thai deputies including General Yuthasak Sasiprapha, President of National Olympic Committee of Thailand (NOCT), NOCT Secretary-General Major General Charouck Arirachakaran, as well as Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Zhang Jiuhuan.

This is the first time the Olympic Torch Relay, initiated in 1936, is run on the soil of Thailand. Bangkok is the 12th leg of the global tour of the Beijing Olympic Flame.

Starting at 3:00 p.m. (0800GMT) Saturday afternoon, 80 torch bearers, selected from distinguished representatives from different walks of life including government officials, athletes, company executives, artists, students, educators, social workers and Thai-Chinese community leaders, will run through a 10.4-km-long route in Bangkok that covers the city's most re-known landmarks and historic sites.

(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2008)