Top Lufthansa shareholder Heinz Hermann Thiele on Wednesday said he would back a state rescue plan for the airline, quashing fears that the German billionaire could torpedo the deal in a crucial vote. "I will vote for the agreement," Thiele told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview on the eve of an extraordinary general meeting where investors will vote on the rescue plan for the airline group. The proposed nine-billion-euro rescue deal would see the German state take a 20-percent stake in Lufthansa, a prospect Thiele had earlier voiced scepticism about. mfp/rl