Yangon, Myanmar A Chinese built Burmese military aircraft has gone down with 120 feared dead aboard officials say. Military officials say the missing transport plane feared lost in the Andaman Sea had 15 children among the passengers on board.
The plane carrying 120 people disappeared a half-hour after leaving a coastal city heading for Yangon on Wednesday afternoon, and a navy ship participating in the search Thursday morning found life jackets, three bodies and a tire from a plane wheel.
Information was from the Myanmar military commander in chief, who says the plane carried 14 crew members, 35 military personnel and 58 other adults. The 15 children are six boys and nine girls. Sometimes such flights carry civilians to offset transportation costs for military families stationed in the somewhat remote southern part of the nation.
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General Myat Min Oo says the wreckage was found in the sea west of the town of Laung Lone.The Chinese-made Y-8 turboprop aircraft lost contact about a half-hour after takeoff from the southeastern city of Myeik, also known as Mergui, headed for Yangon, on a route that would have taken it over the Andaman Sea.
The military spokesman said a navy ship found a tire that was part of an aircraft wheel, two life jackets and the bodies of a man, a woman and a child.Nine naval ships, five army aircraft and two helicopters were involved in the search. Other nations in the area were involved in recovery efforts as well.