Rescue teams were on Thursday, June 7, 2017 making the grim discovery of bodies and aircraft parts after a Chinese made plane went missing off the southern coast of Myanmar with at least 120 people on board.
Four children were among the ten bodies which have been found by navy and civilian ships after the Shaanxi Y-8-200F aircraft vanished on Wednesday, Myanmar’s military said on Thursday. Other reports said 20 bodies have already been brought ashore.
The military transport plane, which disappeared en route from Myeik to Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, was carrying 35 soldiers and their families, which included 15 children, Reuters news agency said.
Reuters said the total number of passengers was 122, which included 14 crew members, while other reports said 120 people were on the plane.
The plane lost contact about half and hour after takeoff while flying at 18,000 feet (5,485 metres) over the Andaman Sea, the military said.
Navy patrols and fishing vessels on Thursday also discovered life jackets, luggage and a tyre, which is thought to be from the aircraft’s wheel.
The pilot had more than 3,000 hours of flying experience, while the four engine turboprop had a total of 809 flying hours in the air.
The aircraft was bought in March 2016 and was carrying 2.4 tons of supplies, the military said.
Myanmar’s former military regime had a close relationship with China, as most western countries squeezed the country with sanctions.
The aircraft is still being produced by the state-owned Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation and is used in China, Sudan, and Myanmar.
Military accidents are not uncommon in Myanmar. A military helicopter crashed last June in a central region of the country, killing three military personnel on board.
An air force plane burst into flames soon after taking off from the capital Naypyidaw in February last year, killing five people.
Read more at Telegraph.
