Officials find wreckage of missing Myanmar military plane

The wreckage of a missing Myanmar military plane and three bodies have been found in the sea, the Defence Services Office said on Thursday.

The defence office in a statement said that the plane wreckage and the bodies were found in the waters 22.4 km west of Kyauk Ni Maw and 35.2 km southwest of Laung Lone.

According to the statement, the rescue team recovered bodies of one man, one woman and one child, as well as a tyre believed to be the plane’s wheel, two life jackets and some bags.

The defence service office said that search for the missing Myanmar military plane was underway, with nine naval vessels, five aircraft and two helicopters of the Air Force as well as local vessels.

The aircraft of the Myanmar Air Force, with 122 people aboard, including 108 military personnel, family members and 14 crew members, lost contact with the ground off the coast of southern Tanintharyi region on Wednesday on its flight from Myeik to Yangon.

The military plane took off from Myeik air base at 1:06 p.m.local time (0636 GMT).

When it reached a height of 18,000 feet at about 1:35 p.m.local time (0707 GMT), it lost contact with the ground at a location 32 km west of Dawei and went missing.

The aircraft was on a round trip transport mission along the route Yangon-Myeik-Pokkpyin.