The plane was a Y-8F-200 four-engine turboprop, a Chinese-made model still commonly used by Myanmar’s military for transporting cargo.
June 7, 2017
Ⓒ AFP/File – Ye Aung Thu | A Shaanxi Y-8 transport aircraft is unloaded at Sittwe airport in Myanmar’s Rakhine state
Debris has been found in the sea near where a Myanmar military plane went missing with more than 100 soldiers and their families on board on Wednesday, a local official and air force source said.
Navy ships and aircraft had been searching since the afternoon when the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers.
Most of those on board were thought to be women and children who were travelling from the southern city of Myeik to Yangon.
“Now they have found pieces of the damaged plane in the sea 136 miles (218 km) away from Dawei city,” said Naing Lin Zaw, a tourism official in Myeik, citing the military and adding that they were still searching the sea.
An air force source confirmed to AFP that a navy search and rescue ship had found debris in the sea an hour’s flight south of Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial capital.
The commander in chief’s office said the plane lost contact at about 1:35 pm (07:05 GMT) off Myanmar’s southern coast.
A spokesman from the military’s information team said two-thirds of passengers on board were women and children.
“Some were on their way for medical checkups and to attend school,” the colonel in Naypyidaw told AFP, refusing to confirm what rescuers had found and adding the search was ongoing.
There was conflicting information about the number of people on board.
Giving an updated figure, the commander in chief’s office said 106 passengers were on board — soldiers and family members — along with 14 crew.
Several navy ships and air force planes were sent to search for the aircraft, which was flying at an altitude of more than 18,000 feet (5,486 metres).
It is monsoon season in Myanmar but there were no reports of bad weather at the time the plane went missing.
Debris found in sea after Myanmar military plane goes missing
June 7, 2017
Ⓒ AFP/File – Ye Aung Thu | A Shaanxi Y-8 transport aircraft is unloaded at Sittwe airport in Myanmar’s Rakhine state
Debris has been found in the sea near where a Myanmar military plane went missing with more than 100 soldiers and their families on board on Wednesday, a local official and air force source said.
Navy ships and aircraft had been searching since the afternoon when the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers.
Most of those on board were thought to be women and children who were travelling from the southern city of Myeik to Yangon.
“Now they have found pieces of the damaged plane in the sea 136 miles (218 km) away from Dawei city,” said Naing Lin Zaw, a tourism official in Myeik, citing the military and adding that they were still searching the sea.
An air force source confirmed to AFP that a navy search and rescue ship had found debris in the sea an hour’s flight south of Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial capital.
The commander in chief’s office said the plane lost contact at about 1:35 pm (07:05 GMT) off Myanmar’s southern coast.
A spokesman from the military’s information team said two-thirds of passengers on board were women and children.
“Some were on their way for medical checkups and to attend school,” the colonel in Naypyidaw told AFP, refusing to confirm what rescuers had found and adding the search was ongoing.
There was conflicting information about the number of people on board.
Giving an updated figure, the commander in chief’s office said 106 passengers were on board — soldiers and family members — along with 14 crew.
Several navy ships and air force planes were sent to search for the aircraft, which was flying at an altitude of more than 18,000 feet (5,486 metres).
It is monsoon season in Myanmar but there were no reports of bad weather at the time the plane went missing.
Debris found in sea after Myanmar military plane goes missing
