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Myanmar military plane missing with more than 100 on board – army chief Myanmar military plane missing with more than 100 on board – army chief
(about 1 hour later)
A Myanmar military plane is missing, the national army chief confirmed in a statement. A local aviation official said 105 people were on board, according to reports. A Myanmar military plane carrying more than 100 passengers, including crew, soldiers and their family members, has gone missing, the national army has confirmed.
A search and rescue operation is underway after the plane dropped off the radar on Wednesday while flying over the Andaman Sea between the southern city of Myeik and Yagon. The plane dropped off the radar Wednesday while flying over the Andaman Sea between the southern city of Myeik and Yagon. A search and rescue operation is now underway.
"Communication was lost suddenly at about 1:35pm when it reached about 20 miles west of Dawei town," the statement read, according to local media. The military has deployed both the air force and navy to search for the aircraft. "Communication was lost suddenly at about 1:35pm when [the plane] reached about 20 miles west of Dawei town," read the army chief’s statement.
"The total number of people on the military plane is 105. We received this information from the airplane before departure," Kyaw Kyaw Htey, a civil aviation official at Myeik airport, told Reuters."We don't know what exactly happened to this plane after the loss of contact," Htey added. Initial reports of the number of passengers on board ranged from 116 to 105. However, the latest count from military and civil aviation officials put the figure at 120, according to Reuters.
It’s understood the plane, a Chinese-built Shaanxi Y-8, could be carrying both military personnel and their relatives. Three military planes and six navy ships are continuing to search for the Chinese-built Shaanxi Y-8 transport plane.
“We think it was a technical failure. Weather is fine there," an airport source told AFP. It’s currently monsoon season in Myanmar and stormy conditions were forecast, according to weather reports. "We don't know what exactly happened to this plane after the loss of contact," Kyaw Kyaw Htey, a civil aviation official at Myeik airport, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, an airport source told AFP: “We think it was a technical failure. Weather is fine there."