BEIJING, May 19 -- China sent telegrams of condolences to the Laotian government Monday over the deaths of two senior Lao officials.

Meng Jianzhu, head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Guo Shengkun, Chinese Minister of Public Security, expressed profound sorrow over the deaths of Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Douangchay Phichit and Minister of Public Security Thongbanh Sengaphone in a plane crash, and offered sincere sympathies to their families.

In the messages, Meng and Guo praised the two Lao officials' major contribution to security enforcement and cooperation in the Mekong River subregion among China, Laos, Burma and Thailand.

Huang Ming, Chinese Vice Minister of Public Security, will lead a delegation to the country to attend mourning activities on Monday, and visit the victims' families on behalf of Meng and Guo.