Military plane carrying more than 100 people missing in Myanmar

A plane carrying more than 100 people, mostly relatives of Myanmar soldiers, has gone missing after taking off in the south of the country.

A Y-8 aircraft of the Myanmar Air Force. Photo: Wiki

The Chinese-made Y-8 transport plane departed from the coastal town of Myeik in southern Myanmar at 1:06 p.m. (1:36 p.m. Hanoi time) bound for Yangon, the country's largest city. However, it lost contact with the ground while flying over the Andaman Sea, 32 kilometers west of the town of Dawei. The Myanmar military declared the plane missing, according to Reuters.

"The total number of people on the military plane was 105. We received this information from the plane before departure," said Kyaw Kyaw Htey, a civil aviation official at Myeik airport.The NYTimes reported that most of the people on the plane were relatives of Myanmar soldiers.

Mr. Kyaw Kyaw HteyThe weather in the area was reported to be normal when the plane took off.The Myanmar military has dispatched naval ships and two aircraft to search for the missing plane.

The Y-8 is a medium-sized, medium-range transport aircraft manufactured in China by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation, based on the Soviet Antonov An-12. It has become one of the most popular transport aircraft in China for both military and civilian use. Beijing has exported the aircraft to Myanmar, Sudan, and Sri Lanka.

Plane goes missing near Dawei. Graphic: islandsafarimergui

According to VNE