Wreckage of missing Myanmar military plane and bodies of some passengers found

The Myanmar Army said on Thursday (8 June) that bodies of some passengers and wreckage of the military plane that went missing a day ago with 120 on board have been located.

The Chinese-made Y-8 turboprop aircraft was reportedly carrying 106 military personnel and their families, including children, as well as 14 crew members.

The bodies of two adults and a child were found by a navy ship 35km from the southern coastal town of Launglon, the military said in a Facebook post, according to Reuters.

The post added that a plane wheel believed to be from the Chinese-made Y-8 aircraft was also found.

A massive search and rescue operation was launched in the Andaman Sea soon after reports came of the plane's disappearance. The plane was headed to Yangon from the southern Burmese city of Myeik when it went missing on Wednesday afternoon local time.

Military officials said at the time that nine naval ships, five army aircraft and three helicopters were dispatched for a search operation in the Andaman Sea. On Thursday morning, one of the naval search ships found a few pieces of the plane's wreckage.

General Myat Min Oo, a spokesman for the Myanmar military, told the Associated Press that the naval ship found two life jackets, three bodies and a tyre that was part of an aircraft wheel.

The spokesman added that it was raining, but not heavily, at the time of the plane's disappearance.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing reportedly said in an earlier Facebook post on Wednesday that they lost contact with the military transport plane when it was about 32km to the west of Dawei, formerly known as Tavoy.

The Myanmar military received the Y-8 aircraft in March 2016, which has since logged 809 flying hours, the AP wrote.