Debris from a Myanmar military plane carrying 105 people was found in the Andaman Sea on Wednesday, a local official and an air force source told AFP. The aircraft was reported missing earlier.
"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 city, adding that the navy was still searching the sea.
Four naval ships and two air force planes have been sent to search for the plane, which was flying between the southern city of Myeik and Yangon at more than 18,000 feet when it went missing.
Earlier, Gen. Myat Min Oo said the Chinese-made Y-8 aircraft was carrying 90 passengers — mostly families of military personnel — and 14 crew members when it went missing Wednesday afternoon.
"The military plane went missing and lost contact after it took off from Myeik, and now the military has started a sea and air search with naval ships and military aircraft and is preparing for rescue operations," he said.
Myeik, also known as Mergui, is a city in southeastern Myanmar on the Andaman coast. Much of the plane's route would have been over the Andaman Sea.
The missing plane is a Y-8F-200 four-engine turboprop, a Chinese-made model still commonly used by Myanmar’s military for transporting cargo.
The passengers were believed to mainly be family members of military men based in the coastal region.
"We think it was a technical failure. Weather is fine there," an official source told AFP, adding there was no news of the plane so far.
Further details are awaited.
