Searchers find debris from Myanmar aircraft

YANGON // Pieces of a Myanmar military plane that went missing with more than 100 soldiers and family members aboard were found in the Andaman Sea last night, an official said.

Navy ships and aircraft had been searching since the afternoon when the plane lost contact with air-traffic controllers.

More than a dozen children were believed to be on the plane travelling from the southern city of Myeik to Yangon, an air force source said.

“Now they have found pieces of the damaged plane in the sea 218 kilometres from Dawei city,” said Naing Lin Zaw, a tourism official in Myeik.

The air force source confirmed that a navy search and rescue ship had found pieces of the plane 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 1.35pm.

There was initially conflicting information about the number of people on board. But giving an updated figure, the commander in chief’s office said 106 passengers were on board – soldiers and family members – and 14 crew.

Four naval ships and two air force planes were sent to search for the plane.

It is monsoon season in Myanmar but there were no reports of bad weather at the time the plane went missing.

The plane was a Chinese-built Y- 8F- 200 four- engine turboprop . The army said it had logged 809 flying hours.