Missing Myanmar plane with over 100 aboard crashes: official
An airport source said the plane was carrying 105 pasengers and 11 crew when it took off
YANGON (AFP) - Debris from a missing Myanmar military plane carrying more than 100 people was found in the Andaman Sea late Wednesday, a local official and an air force source told AFP.
"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.
An air force source requesting anonymity confirmed a navy search and rescue ship had found pieces of the plane.
"Communication was lost suddenly at about 1:35 pm (07:05 GMT) when it reached about 20 miles west of Dawei town," the commander-in-chief s office said in a statement earlier today.
Ships and planes were scrambled to search for the plane, which was flying over the Andaman Sea when it went missing, the statement added.
An airport source said the plane was carrying 105 pasengers and 11 crew when it took off.
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," the source told AFP.
